Manitoba rapid test kit strategy shifts to partner organizations

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This article was published 29/07/2021 (1000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba continues to be slow at employing its complement of COVID-19 rapid tests, with 94 per cent sitting unused.

Fresh data show the province had used just 6.15 per cent of all its test kits as of mid-July, a slight increase from three weeks prior.

As of around July 15, 58,400 tests had been used of the 949,248 purchased by Ottawa or the provincial government.

A total of 45 per cent of tests were sitting in a stockpile as of July 22, with the rest deployed to businesses and organizations, up from 38 per cent a month prior.

The different dates account for Manitoba shifting its strategy away from a focus on how many tests have actually been administered, toward getting these kits into the hands of businesses and service organizations.

“Our primary focus provincially is deployment of tests where they can best be used over time by partner organizations to help identify cases that would otherwise go undetected,” wrote a Manitoba Health spokeswoman.

“Partner usage, which is twice a week for screening in asymptomatic populations, is part of our data, but is not our primary focus week-to-week, as we want tests to be used when and where they are needed.”

Rapid tests are used to detect the coronavirus in as little as 15 minutes, but they’re nowhere near as sensitive as the deep-nasal swab test for people with COVID-19 symptoms, which are processed in laboratories.

Instead, rapid tests tend to detect those who don’t yet have symptoms but carry high viral loads, which are often the ones who go on to infect multiple people.

Manitoba officials have used rapid tests to screen asymptomatic teachers and school staff, and to generate preliminary indicators in remote areas when samples have been flown down to Winnipeg for proper testing.

Yet. Manitoba is using a much lower proportion of the rapid tests it has received than five of the 10 provinces, with Ontario using 34 per cent, Alberta administering 19 per cent, and Saskatchewan at 12 per cent.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business hopes provinces will use rapid tests to keep case numbers low.

“The issue’s going to become increasingly relevant, as Manitoba moves out of the third phase of restrictions, and the province is talking about a fourth (wave),” said Jonathan Alward, the group’s Manitoba director.

He noted some provinces are putting out ideas for how to deal with a hypothetical fourth wave, with Quebec saying it will roll out vaccination cards similar to Manitoba, and Alberta ending almost all isolation rules.

“What’s the plan going forward, in the event there are additional waves — do we go back into lockdown?” Alward said. “It may be rapid testing, it may be more PPE supplies or ventilation-system (tax) credits that will keep businesses open.”

For now, Manitoba has rolled out 433,406 kits to 80 partnering businesses and service organizations. The settings range from personal care homes and pizza franchises to airlines and mines.

The province has also helped create a program at Red River College that quickly trains people on how to administer rapid tests.

Yet, Alward said he’s not sure if the owner of a café or small retailer can easily access rapid testing for staff.

“I don’t know if they have the resources, for example, to help every business out there that wants to take advantage of rapid testing in their workplace, or if they’re focusing on areas of need first and foremost.”

Separately, Ottawa has partnered with national chain Shoppers Drug Mart to administer rapid tests for smaller businesses who want to use them in some provinces, including Manitoba.

Shoppers parent company, Loblaw, ignored multiple requests this week for data on the program.

Nova Scotia has made walk-in rapid tests available in areas with COVID-19 spread, and a new pilot project in Halifax offering take-home tests. The province has used 26 per cent of the 1.3 million test kits it has received.

In Ontario and New Brunswick, business chambers have rolled out rapid tests to smaller businesses so they can screen employees for asymptomatic COVID-19.

Abroad, rapid tests have been common in parts of Western Europe for months, for everything from weekly screening of schoolchildren to vetting customers entering bars.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca