Anger, confusion as most British Columbians now don't qualify for COVID-19 testing
For the majority of the pandemic, the provincial health officer has advised British Columbians to get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms. That message changed dramatically on Friday.
With COVID-19 now being treated more like other respiratory illnesses, most people don’t qualify for government-funded rapid antigen or PCR testing.
Rivka Ziskrout’s 12-year-old son, who has COVID-19 symptoms, received an at-home rapid test kit at the drive-thru testing site in North Vancouver on Wednesday, and was told to come back for another test 48 hours later. But by Friday, the criteria for who qualified for a test had changed, and he was turned away despite being symptomatic.
“He was provided a little handout that says who can get tested,” said Ziskrout.
Only the unvaccinated, the immunocompromised, and people who live or work in certain high-risk settings are eligible for PCR or rapid testing. Everyone else doesn’t qualify anymore, regardless of symptoms, and that includes most seniors and children.
“He was sent home. We don’t know. He still has symptoms,” said Ziskrout of her son.
“So now, as parents, we are left to speculate whether or not it is COVID, treat him as best we can and it raises a lot of concerns and a lot of anxiety.”
The rule change for testing eligibility came three days after Surrey opened its first dedicated rapid test kit distribution centre at Bear Creek Park. It has capacity to hand out 750 test kits per day, but now very few people qualify to book an appointment there.
“It’s been ripped away from us before it even started,” said Surrey Board of Trade president Anita Huberman. “The Bear Creek rapid test site just opened, and it was a way to keep each other safe. You know, when you have symptoms, you want to make sure what’s happening, whether or not you can go to work.”
While Dr. Bonnie Henry argues most symptomatic British Columbians don’t need COVID-19 tests because they should be staying home regardless and contact tracing has stopped, Huberman believes people have a right to know, and a right to access publicly funded testing.
“We want to know what’s happening with our body as an individual,” she said. “And if you’re an employer, you want to be able to indicate what type of action or interaction on the floor (is OK) if you’re a manufacturing facility (and) someone has COVID. Information is key to ensure productive, safe workplaces.”
Ziskrout agrees.
“We need that information and now we can’t have that at all,” she said.
Because she’s pregnant, she is isolating from her symptomatic, 12-year-old son.
“We don’t want to affect the baby, and now I don’t know, are we going overboard on that? Maybe nothing would have happened. Maybe it’s not COVID so it would have been fine,” she said. “It definitely would be nice to know.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.