McGill to offer rapid COVID testing for students, staff
Beginning Nov. 8, McGill University will offer rapid COVID-19 tests to asymptomatic students and staff through a pilot project, it was announced last week.
The Abbott Panbio rapid antigen detection tests (RADT), which produces results in as little as 15 minutes, will be offered on a voluntary basis.
Between four to eight tests can be conducted every 20 minutes, according to the McGill website.
While the test will be accessible to all students, staff and faculty, a few rules are in place.
Participants must be asymptomatic, as current health restrictions prohibit anyone with COVID symptoms from entering campus.
Sample collection, which involves performing a nasal swab, must be self-administered. Trained staff will be present to provide guidance.
If a participant tests positive for the virus, they must agree to confirm their result by visiting an authorized testing site, as rapid tests are considered less accurate. If they test positive once more, they are instructed to contact the university to facilitate contact tracing.
And finally, participants will not be provided with documentation of their results after their rapid test is complete.
"While the results will be shared with participants, they cannot be used as proof of a negative test result for travel or any other purposes," reads the McGill website.
Although rapid testing has been implemented in various elementary and high schools across Montreal, McGill is the city's first university to bring it to campus.
While the pilot project has the potential to reduce transmission of the virus, McGill says it is not intended "to replace existing health measures [...] such as masking and distancing."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.