As Sask. COVID-19 cases continue to surge, health authority tries out home testing for kids
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is hoping to target unvaccinated children and their families by launching a home screening pilot project which it says is a first in Canada.
Families from 30 schools across the province have received COVID-19 testing kits as part of the pilot project which aims to identify cases of the illness in children under 12 years old who can’t yet get the vaccine.
The pilot launched Tuesday with the SHA briefing some of the participants getting a briefing via a virtual informational meeting.
Carrie Dornstauder is the Pandemic Response Testing Chief for the Saskatchewan Health Authority and she hopes this pilot project will ultimately be able to pick up COVID symptoms in kids earlier. Asymptomatic carriers or those who don’t show symptoms are a big part of this project as those involved take the test twice a week regardless of whether they have any symptoms or not.
“It’s designed to pick up COVID maybe before you get symptoms or in that population that kids fall into that don’t always show their symptoms,” Dornstauder told CTV News.
The test is a screening tool, not a diagnostic tool like in a testing and assessment centre.
“It’s a gentle easy nasal swab so not like the tickle you get when you go to the test and assessment centre. It’s very gentle with five swabs in each nostril and into a tube,” she said.
The results are ready in 15 minutes once the swab is put into a solution.
Saskatchewan is one of the first provinces to try out the tool.
“We really want to focus n children who do not have access to the vaccine as well as the families who have yet to receive the vaccine because we are seeing that 98% of children admitted with COVID are coming from unvaccinated homes,” Dornstauder said.
The participating schools were selected based on a number of factors.
“They were chosen based on a risk assessment which looks at the amount of vaccine, the uptake vaccine in their community as well as the time for transportation to acute care service," Dornstauder said.
"We want to make sure we are taking care of the kids who could potentially get sick and take extra time to get to us.”
The plan is to get some results within two weeks and then have more kits distributed to more schools in the province.
The ultimate goal is to get the kits to all schools in the province with students under the age of 12 attendings even if vaccinations are approved for that age group.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.