Quebec orders more than 70 million COVID-19 rapid tests
Quebec's Health Ministry states it has reached an agreement with locally-based MedSup Medical to produce more than 70 million rapid tests in the coming months.
According to health officials, the first shipment of 10 million tests is scheduled for the end of January.
An additional 20 million is expected to be delivered in both February and March, as well as a minimum of 15 million in April and five million in May.
"This delivery of 70 million rapid tests is in addition to the 24 million already expected," the health ministry notes. "The first tests supplied will be produced in China, then gradually in Quebec starting in February, from the Montreal plant."
The government has been encouraging people who are not part of "priority groups" to take rapid tests instead of PCR tests, should they develop symptoms of COVID-19.
Priority groups include:
- People in hospitals;
- Emergency room patients;
- Health care workers in contact with patients;
- Staff, residents, essential care workers and visitors in hospitals and different facilities;
- Ambulance patients who may be COVID-19 positive;
- Homeless people or those in precarious residential situations.
Government officials admit that access to rapid tests in Quebec has been precarious.
"If they cannot access these [rapid] tests, they should consider themselves COVID-19 positive and follow the isolation guidelines in place based on their vaccination status," the government notes.
MedSup Medical boasts four distribution centers in Canada -- in Montreal, Magog, Vancouver and Toronto.
The Quebec government notes the company is a medical supply wholesaler certified by Health Canada and the rapid test project will only go ahead after proper authorization by public health bodies.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live election results: Trump elected 47th U.S. president
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, clearing the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.
Trump wins the White House in political comeback rooted in appeals to frustrated voters
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.
PM Trudeau congratulates Donald Trump on presidential victory
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Donald Trump early Wednesday morning on his second United States presidential election win.
Trump's second term will look nothing like his first
Donald Trump's election victory will return him to the White House, but both his allies and detractors have made clear his second time around will look nothing like the first.
Republicans take U.S. Senate majority and eye unified power with Trump
Republicans have taken control of the U.S. Senate and are fighting to keep their majority in the U.S. House, which would produce a full sweep of GOP power in Congress alongside U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the White House.
Hurricane Rafael becomes a Category 2 storm as it barrels toward Cuba
Hurricane Rafael strengthened into a Category 2 storm on Wednesday just hours before it was forecast to make landfall on Wednesday in western Cuba.
Saskatchewan health officials warn of typhoid fever exposure at pizza restaurant
The Saskatchewan Health Authority says people who ate food from a pizza restaurant near Saskatoon last month may have been exposed to typhoid fever.
'I'm still in shock': Brampton, Ont. landlord caught in e-transfer interception fraud
A Brampton, Ont. landlord says he's shocked after two e-transfers he was meant to receive were blocked from his account by scammers.
B.C. parents sue Irish nanny for quitting on short notice
Two parents filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court last week seeking damages from their former nanny, alleging she quit on short notice and "never said goodbye to the children."