Ontario's Ministry of Health to provide update on deployment of rapid antigen testing

The Ministry of Health in Ontario is set to provide an update about the deployment of rapid testing in the province.

In a press release issued Thursday morning, the Ministry of Health announced a technical briefing today.

Alison Blair, associate deputy minister pandemic response and recovery; Fredrika Scarth, director, testing planning and implementation; and Dr. Michelle Murti, associate chief medical officer of health, will provide the update together.

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The briefing comes a day after the federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos, alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, announced that 140 million rapid tests will be available across provinces.

“As requested by our colleagues from provinces and territories, these tests will be allocated to them on a per capita basis,” Duclos said during the COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday.

Ontario reported that 2,279 people had been hospitalized due to COVID-19 as of Thursday.

Last week, the provincial government announced significant changes to testing eligibility and COVID-19 isolation periods. Starting December 31, PCR testing became available exclusively to symptomatic or severely ill high-risk individuals. Additionally, individuals with a positive result from a rapid antigen no longer need to get a PCR or rapid molecular test for added confirmation.

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore is also expected to hold his regularly scheduled weekly COVID-19 briefing today.