Alberta’s health minister is scheduled to provide an update on the next phase of COVID-19 rapid testing in the province Thursday morning.
Heath Minister Tyler Shandro is scheduled to speak at a news conference at 9 a.m. MT. He will be joined by Dr. William Stokes with Alberta Health Services.
Global News will live stream the media availability in this story post.
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On Nov. 26, Shandro said the province would be introducing point-of-care rapid testing in early December. At the time, he said Alberta had received more than 577,000 of the Abbott ID NOW and Abbott Panbio COVID-19 testing kits.
“As we work to address rising cases, we’re proud to provide Albertans with faster, more convenient testing for the disease,” Shandro said on Nov. 26.
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The swabs must be taken by health-care professionals, the health minister said, adding the tests are only valid for people experiencing symptoms in the last seven days.
The tests were to be used in clinical pilots at several sites throughout the province, including at assessment centres in Calgary, Edmonton, Slave Lake and St. Paul.