Health unit recommendations on rapid tests remain unchanged

The Ontario government announced a plan this week to make 44-million free rapid COVID-19 tests available to the public over the next eight weeks.

The initiative, which began Wednesday, will see participating grocery stores and pharmacies across the province providing the tests to the public for at-home use. More on this initiative can be found here.

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reminds the community that its recommendations for testing remain unchanged.

PCR testing is only appropriate, and recommended, in the following scenarios:
 

• You have COVID-19-related symptoms and you are eligible for PCR testing.
• The health unit has let you know that you are a close contact of someone who has COVID-19, based on a thorough risk assessment completed only by the health unit. Determining who is a close contact is a decision that can be made only by the health unit.

“We discourage people from relying on the results of rapid antigen tests,” states Grey Bruce medical officer of health Dr. Ian Arra, in a press release issued Thursday. “If you’re sick, stay home, whether you test positive or negative."

The health unit also discourages asymptomatic testing. If you choose to participate in this voluntary asymptomatic testing strategy (which the health unit does not suggest), be aware of the risks and challenges related to such testing:
 

• Rapid Antigen Tests are not very reliable:
  • The accuracy of the tests is a challenge. A negative test is not an indication of truly being negative, and a positive test is not a guarantee of the test being positive.
  • A false-positive may cause significant and unintended anxiety in families linked to the false-positive. Self-isolation, inability to attend work, and fear/anxiety are real outcomes of a false-positive.
  • Most concerning, a false-negative can contribute to further spreading of the virus due to false reassurance.
• Testing in people who have no symptoms increases the likelihood of false-positives.

For more information on COVID-19 in general, visit the health unit website at publichealthgreybruce.on.ca.