45% of Canadians plan to ask holiday guests to get a COVID-19 test: Survey
With little still known about the new Omicron variant regarding its transmissibility and the severity of disease, there are some doctors who would like to see rapid tests more available to all Albertans.
Dr. Raj Bhardwaj would like to see the tests be free and available to avoid a surge in COVID-19 cases over the holidays.
“This isn’t Christmas of 12 months ago when we had no vaccines, we have some layers of protection which give people this idea that we can gather safely and rapid tests are just another layer of protection that allow us to gather safely. So, I kind of feel like a safe Christmas is being held back from us and I don’t want to go another Christmas without seeing family in person,” he says.
“We’re running out of time and will be stuck reacting (again) instead of being proactive for once,” Bhardwaj said in a Tweet.
Dr. Joe Vipond, meanwhile, is calling on the federal government to provide a “respirator-style mask” to all Canadians once a week free of charge and seven rapid tests per household, per week.
“OK Canada. I think we need to double down, on everything,” he wrote on Twitter. “Let's use collective action to keep us safe. #BreatheandTestFree.”
Abdul Kanji is the pharmacist at the Corner Drug Store in East Village and also agrees it would be beneficial for people to have access to the tests at home.
“Rapid tests are quite easy to do so, that would be a good thing to have so you don’t miss work and at the same time you keep the family protected at home,” he says. “It would be beneficial I supposed rather than missing school they take a rapid tests, if it’s negative than they go to school so I see good things in that perspective.”
In Alberta, employers and service providers can apply to receive free rapid testing kits through the government’s rapid testing program.
They’re also available for students and staff in K-to-6 schools dealing with an outbreak. The voluntary program has only been used a handful of times between Calgary’s two major school boards.
The province has given out six million kits to date and say there is ample supply which Dr. Bhardwaj finds frustrating.
He says if a supply shortage isn’t the issue than Albertans deserve to know why access isn’t being expanded.
“The federal government acquired millions of these rapid tests and distributed them to the provinces and Alberta for the most part has been sitting on them and I’d really like to understand why,” he says. “A lot of the Atlantic provinces are doing this, Saskatchewan is doing this and a lot of places in Europe they’ll give you tests for free and ask you to test yourself every three days, so it’s doable we’re not reinventing the wheel here it’s just deciding that hmmm, Alberta is a really good place to use a wheel.”
The province says the focus is on providing tests to high risk populations, workplaces and essential services.
OVER A WEEK OF OMICRON
It’s been more than one week now since the first cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant were detected in Canada.
On Monday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said there were eight new cases of the Omicron variant detected in Alberta since Dec. 3, bringing the total to 11 in the province.
COVID-19 testing is top of mind for many Canadians planning to celebrate with loved ones over the holiday.
According to a new online survey by Rapid Test and Trace Canada, a large retailer of rapid COVID tests in Canada, 46 per cent of Canadians plan to ask family and friends to get tested before a holiday visit.
In Alberta, 72.3 percent of men surveyed expect there to be an argument over asking someone to be tested for a gathering which is well above the national average of 58.3 per cent.
Fifty-three percent of people surveyed also said they plan to limit visits due to COVID concerns this holiday season.
The survey was conducted online of some 1000 Canadians between November 18th and December 6th.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.