“Starting February 9, 2022, participating grocery and pharmacy locations across the riding of Carleton will provide free rapid antigen tests while supplies last, with a limit of one box of five tests per household per visit”, said MPP for Carleton, Goldie Gharmari. Participating retailers will receive additional supply from the province each week and have the ability to determine how tests are distributed in order to best serve the community, including through appointment bookings, at checkout or through online orders.
The list of grocery stores and pharmacies in Stittsville who will be providing the free rapid antigen test kits are as follows:
- Brown’s Your Independent Grocer, 1251 Stittsville Main Street
- Food Basics, 5703 Hazeldean Road
- Hazeldean Pharmacy – Pharma-Choice, B-6150 Hazeldean Road
- Shopper’s Drug Mart, 1300 Stittsville Main Street
- Shopper’s Drug Mart, 5709 Hazeldean Road
- Stittsville Whole Health Pharmacy, 1609 Stittsville Main Street
There are over 2,300 participating grocery and pharmacy locations across the province. A list of all participating retailers as well as information on how retail locations are distributing rapid test kits can be found at Ontario.ca/rapidtest. Ontario will be distributing 5 million rapid antigen tests each week for eight weeks through over 2,300 pharmacy and grocery locations across the province, as well as 500,000 each week through community partners in vulnerable communities. In total, the province is making 44 million rapid antigen tests available to the public over the coming weeks.
“I am pleased that so many local pharmacies and grocery stores across the Carleton riding are participating in this initiative by providing free rapid antigen test kits to the community,” said Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton.
“As we continue to carefully ease public health measures, rapid antigen tests are providing another layer of protection and offer the public an additional tool to confidently do the things they love, like visiting family or dining at their favourite local restaurant,” said the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott. “In addition to the millions of rapid tests deployed each week to support priority settings, including hospitals, long-term care homes and schools, working with our retail and community partners we are increasing access to at-home rapid tests.”
To support access to tests for communities that have been impacted disproportionately by COVID-19 and face barriers to testing, including language, income and transportation, lead agencies working as part of the High Priority Communities Strategy will be distributing rapid antigen tests through existing local partnerships, such as community centres, community health centres, places of worship, and food banks. Lead agencies will also have discretion to provide additional boxes depending on individual circumstances, such as a multi-generational home or an immunocompromised family member.
Providing expanded access to free rapid antigen testing kits to the general population builds on Ontario’s comprehensive testing strategy focused on the province’s priority sectors and workplaces. Over 10 million rapid antigen tests are deployed weekly to these sites and any other sector eligible for the Provincial Antigen Screening Program. As of February 8, over 75 million rapid antigen tests have been deployed since November 2020, with over 33 million deployed to priority sectors to provide an additional layer of protection for hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes. Additionally, approximately 26 million tests have been deployed to support school and licensed child care settings.