Starting on Saturday, people in circuit breaker areas who do not have COVID-19 symptoms will be able to pick up a free rapid test kit which they can administer at home.
There are just three locations province-wide where kits can be picked up this weekend. In Moncton, the Magic Mountain parking lot, located just off Mountain Road, is the designated distribution spot on Saturday, Oct 16, from 8am to 5pm. There are also distribution points in Perth-Andover and Grand Falls. The province has announced a wider distribution starting Monday. Scroll to the end of this story for a list of dates and locations.
The province says the program is for people who do not have symptoms and have not been identified by Public Health as a close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case.
The tests can be used with anyone two years of age and older, but people 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult to acquire a testing kit. Each testing kit has five tests that are set to expire in 2023. The province is recommending they are used every two days over a 10-day period. A negative result on a rapid test indicates that there’s not a significant presence of the coronavirus in that person at that time, so for people concerned they may be infected, repeated testing could be necessary.
Rapid antigen tests work differently than lab-based PCR tests. They identify bits of proteins on the virus, and are accurate between 50 and 95 per cent of the time, depending on how they are administered, and other factors. The results are considered short term, as the test may not detect trace amounts of the virus.
PCR tests work by identifying the genetic presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and are accurate about 98 per cent of the time. But results are slower with a PCR test, and so rapid antigen tests have become a popular tool, especially for people concerned about a possible exposure, but with no symptoms and no contact from Public Health.
In the announcement on Thursday, Dr. Jennifer Russell reminded people that if they come up with a positive result from a rapid antigen test, they should immediately contact Public Health to book a PCR lab test for confirmation. She also said it’s important to remember that rapid antigen results really only reflect “a person’s status for a moment in time.”
Rapid tests have been available for some time in Nova Scotia, at drop in sites where they are handed out by volunteers, with results texted to the recipient. Nova Scotians have also been able to pick up test kits for home use, and at the end of September, that province announced a program sending 80,000 test kits home to parents of school kids under 12.
New Brunswick has been hesitant to roll out use of rapid tests. On Monday, the province started a program whereby parents of unvaccinated school kids could access test kits for home use, if and only if their child was identified as a contact of a confirmed case. That would allow kids with two consecutive negative tests to return to school without undergoing a full isolation period. The plan was criticized for being limited in scope, and leaving vaccinated kids with no access to rapid tests. At the time, the province cited a potential supply issue as the reason for the limited scope of the school program. New Brunswick has received a supply from the federal government on par with what Nova Scotia and other provinces have received.
In light of today’s announcement, supply concerns appear to be resolved. The province says that although the new rapid test program is starting in the circuit breaker areas only on Saturday, it will be expanded across New Brunswick.
Here’s the list of locations and times where kits will be available as of Monday, October 18:
• Greater Moncton Health Centre, 150 Edmonton Ave., Moncton (3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday)
• Cocagne Health Clinic, 4813 Rte. 134, Cocagne (8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and 8 a.m. to noon Friday)
• Moncton, 380 MacNaughton Ave. (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Edmundston Regional Hospital, 275 Hébert Blvd., Edmundston (2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Haut-Madawaska Medical Clinic, 809 Principale St., Clair (1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)
• Grand Falls General Hospital, 625 Everard H. Daigle Blvd., Grand Falls (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Joseph de Saint-Quentin, 21 Canada St., Saint-Quentin (2 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily)
• E.L. Murray Medical Clinic, 3 Stanley St., Campbellton (2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• St. Joseph Community Health Centre, 280 Victoria St., Dalhousie (noon to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Shediac Regional Medical Centre, 419 Main St., Shediac (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Jacquet River Health Centre, 41 Mack St., Belledune (1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Chaleur Regional Hospital, 1750 Sunset Blvd., Bathurst (12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday)
• Enfant-Jésus RHSJ Hospital, 1 Saint-Pierre Blvd. W., Caraquet (1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Tracadie Hospital, 400 Des Hospitalières St., Tracadie (1 p.m. to 3 p.m. daily)
• Lamèque Hospital and Community Health Centre, 29 De l’Hôpital St., Lamèque (noon to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Paquetville Health Centre, 1096 Du Parc St., Paquetville (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday)
• Saint-Isidore Community Health Centre, 3973-1 Des Fondateurs Blvd., Saint-Isidore (12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• St. James the Less Church, 1760 Rothesay Rd., Rothesay (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Exhibition Grounds, 361 Smythe St., Fredericton (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday)
• Miramichi, 365 Wellington St. (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday)
