Clarington Council has asked the province to make Covid-19 rapid test kits available to the public.
In response to a petition made by two business owners, Clarington Council is asking the Province of Ontario and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to expand its Covid-19 Rapid Screening Initiative to business customers.
Currently, the provincial initiative provides free rapid antigen tests to small and medium-sized businesses through participating local chambers of commerce and other organizations for employee use only. When administered to workers, the tests produce results in just 15 minutes and can identify asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases of Covid-19 that may have otherwise gone undetected.
A Clarington council statement said the municipality is willing to become a pilot community to allow the province to expand rapid test kits and see how the program would work.
Council also expressed its support for the Clarington Board of Trade (CBOT), who is helping distribute some 15,000 Covid-19 rapid testing kits to small and medium-sized businesses across the municipality as part of the program.
Related Story: