LAKELAND - Rapid testing for COVID-19 is being expanded across the province. St. Paul and Bonnyville sites were among the first to be included in the clinical pilots that began just weeks ago.
Now, other communities in the Lakeland have been named as sites for rapid testing. The rapid testing systems will be expanded to 25 rural hospitals in the coming week. These sites include the acute care hospitals in Cardston, Pincher Creek, Brooks, Oyen, Wetaskiwin, Drayton Valley, Drumheller, Rocky Mountain House, Castor, Coronation, Wabasca, Edson, Cold Lake, St. Paul, Elk Point, Peace River, Westlock, Barrhead, Provost, Lac La Biche, Camrose, Wainwright, Hinton, Two Hills and Vegreville.
"More than 1,000 people have received the rapid tests at assessment centres and hospital locations to date, including 76 positive cases who were notified about their result in a matter of hours," according to the Government of Alberta.
Also, starting Dec. 18, rapid point-of-care testing will begin at long-term care and designated supportive living facilities in the Edmonton Zone using dedicated mobile testing centres. Mobile testing centres are then expected to be ready to deploy in Calgary Zone starting the week of Dec. 21.
"Mobile testing centres will be focused first on outbreak sites. Expansion to long-term care and designated supportive living facilities outside Edmonton and Calgary zones is expected to follow shortly after," reads a media release from the province.
Rapid testing has also been used at some urban homeless shelters in Alberta.
The expansion of rapid testing systems to new locations across the province will provide faster and more convenient testing, helping to identify and isolate positive cases more rapidly than previously possible, according to the Government of Alberta.
Alberta Health Services has received more than 800,000 rapid tests from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
