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By Mel Rothenburger

Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Free rapid COVID testing should be available to all who want it

Dec 22, 2021 | 5:58 AM

ALL THE FOCUS in yesterday’s COVID-19 announcements was on new restrictions around public gathering places but one very important aspect of the pandemic strategy remains incomplete.

The province will expand its rapid-testing program but it will take a couple of weeks to begin ramping up and there’s no indication it will be made widely available to the general public in the near future.

Currently, only those who are experiencing symptoms are eligible for testing by the local health unit. If your employer has signed up for the Safe Screen B.C. program, you can get a rapid test whether or not you have symptoms after close contact with someone who’s infected.

If that’s not available, there’s the option of going to a pharmacy — and those choices are few — for either a rapid antigen test or the more reliable PCR test. It’s a route most often taken by travellers, and it’s expensive — anywhere from $40 or $50 all the way up to well over $200.

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But what if you just want peace of mind as to whether or not you’re infected, or have to know for work purposes, or want assurance that if one family member has been exposed, other family members aren’t at risk?

Right now, you either have to just hope, or pay the high price for a test that costs zero to $10 in places that support a wide-open testing program.

In Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, multiple-rapid-test kits are being handed out and several other provinces are following suit, though long line-ups are being experienced.

B.C. should have gotten on the rapid-testing bandwagon long ago, but Dr. Bonnie Henry has consistently under estimated its value. With no shortage of supplies, there’s no excuse not to make free rapid testing available to whoever wants it.

The accuracy of rapid testing has improved and it should be an integral part of B.C.’s strategy to control the spread of COVID.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.