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Ontario to roll out free COVID19 rapid antigen tests at grocery stores

rapid test-1.16167904 COVID-19 rapid test kit is a qualitative lateral flow immunochromatographic assay for the detection of IgM and IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in human whole blood, serum or plasma samples (iStock.com/steved_np3)

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The Ontario government will distribute free COVID19 rapid antigen tests at grocery stores, pharmacies and other settings

The Ontario government will distribute free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at grocery stores, pharmacies and other settings.

A government source with knowledge of the plan told The Canadian Press that Health Minister Christine Elliott will announce more details on Wednesday.

The source said there will be a limit of one box of five tests per household per visit, though some stores might have different processes

Ontario provided free rapid antigen test kits at malls and liquor stores in December ahead of the holidays.

The source said Ontario has directly procured more rapid tests and will distribute up to 5.5 million per week.

The news comes weeks after the province restricted access to gold-standard PCR tests as the Omicron variant overwhelmed capacity.