As part of the Ontario government’s “holiday testing blitz” against COVID-19 and the omicron variant announced on Wednesday (December 15), the province is offering voluntary rapid antigen screening to people free of charge at pop-up sites across the province.
People without symptoms of COVID-19 or people who have not had recent exposure to someone with COVID-19 will be able to pick up a package of free tests, while supplies last.
In the greater Kawarthas region, the free tests are first being offered in Peterborough.
The free tests will be available at the following locations and dates:
- Peterborough Farmers’ Market (Morrow Building, 151 Lansdowne St. W.) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 18th and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 8th<./li>
- Lansdowne Place (645 Lansdowne St. W.) from Tuesday, December 21st to Thursday, December 23rd (hours to be determined).
- Peterborough Memorial Centre (151 Lansdowne St. W.) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 18th and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, December 27th.
- Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N.) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, January 5th and Thursday, January 6th.
Additional pop-up sites will be added at other locations in the coming days. Visit ontario.ca/holidaytesting to find out if pop-up rapid antigen screening sites are available in you area. Locations and operating hours will be updated weekly.
Rapid antigen tests detect certain proteins in the COVID-19 virus to confirm its presence. A sample is collected using a swab in the nose and/or throat or nasopharynx (behind your nose and above the back of your throat).
Rapid antigen tests provide results in 15 to 20 minutes after administering the test. Rapid antigen testing is used for screening purposes only and should not be used for diagnosing someone with symptoms or exposure to COVID-19.
Anyone who receives a package of tests to take home and gets a positive result must self-isolate and book a lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. In Peterborough, PCR tests are administered through the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre or at a participating pharmacy, and then sent to a lab for processing to confirm if the person has COVID-19.
