Ontario extends free rapid tests at pharmacies and grocery stores

As health experts declare Ontario is in the middle of a sixth wave of the pandemic, the province is extending its free rapid test program at select pharmacies and grocery stores.

Last month, the Ontario government announced 5.5 million free rapid COVID-19 tests would be available each week at designated locations across the province. Distribution was limited to one box, each including five tests, for a respective household per visit.

Originally, the program was expected to last eight weeks, which would have concluded next month. But now, a government spokesperson confirmed the province will keep providing free rapid tests until at least the end of July.

"As an important tool that helps the province manage and live with COVID-19, the government will continue to provide free rapid antigen tests to the general public through existing channels,” Ministry of Health spokesperson Alexandra Hilkene said.

Those channels include grocery stores, pharmacies, workplaces, schools, hospitals, long-term care homes, retirement residences and other congregate settings. Hilkene said the province will also continue to provide free rapid antigen tests for asymptomatic screening in highest risk sectors.

The creation of this program came alongside a shift in COVID-19 testing for the province. As high rates of the Omicron variant swept through Ontario, PCR testing became limited to high-risk people and rapid antigen testing was therefore treated as confirmation of the virus.

To date, restrictions to PCR tests persist. The government's extension of the rapid test program comes in the midst of calls from opposition parties to expand access to PCR tests as hospitalizations trend upward in Ontario, with 778 patients seeking care for the virus on Wednesday.

When the free rapid test program was announced on Feb. 9, there were no measures in place to prevent individuals from travelling to multiple locations and accumulating boxes. That still remains the case, though, the province has asked residents to be responsible and avoid hoarding.