Ontario to stop free COVID-19 rapid test program in pharmacies, grocery stores
An Ontario program that distributes free rapid tests for COVID-19 at grocery stores and pharmacies will end after this month.
The Ministry of Health wrote in a memo to the retailers recently that the rapid antigen test program will wind down as of June 30.
"With the lower rates of COVID-19, high vaccination rates, and demand for RAT consistently decreasing, the province will be winding down its RAT programs on June 30, 2023," the memo said.
"As a result, distribution of free RATs through the program will end and any agreements with your organization with respect to the program will expire."
A spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones said that demand from the retailers last June was 3.9 million tests a week, and this month it is expected to be about 325,000 tests per week.
The ministry is encouraging grocery stores and pharmacies to place final orders by June 16.
However, the ministry said free rapid tests will still be distributed in some "high priority" communities through organizations such as community health centres and Ontario Health Teams until Dec. 31.
Those communities were identified in December 2020 based on high COVID-19 rates and low testing rates and include many Greater Toronto Area regions such as Brampton, parts of Mississauga, east Toronto and York Region, as well as Windsor and central Ottawa.
NDP health critic France Gelinas said the tests should continue to be available to people who need them, and there are vulnerable people across the province.
"Ontarians need to continue to have access to rapid antigen tests," she said. "Do we need them in every pharmacy in the numbers that we had before? Probably not. But do they need to be available to every community? Yes."
Online retailers are still selling rapid tests, but not everyone who wants them will be able to afford them, said Gelinas, who represents the Sudbury, Ont.-area riding of Nickel Belt.
"They do exist and you are able to buy them on the market, but for the communities that I represent, for northern and rural communities, the price of them will be prohibitive," she said.
Liberal health critic Adil Shamji said Ontario is facing another summer of temporary ER closures and worsening access to primary care, so the government should be making it easier for people to stay safe and healthy.
"If they are going to wind down the RAT program in the midst of low rates of COVID-19, they must do so with plans to ensure equitable testing access for future outbreaks and during upcoming respiratory seasons," he said in a written statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.