COVID-19 Rapid Tests: BC Parents and Child Care Workers Push for Greater Access | The Canadian News

Jennifer Findlay, owner of Creo Kids in White Rock, BC, says the rapid tests could have helped slow the spread of COVID-19 at her child care center earlier this year.

One child had arrived without symptoms but eventually tested positive for the virus, Findlay said. That case grew into six cases and spread to staff, parents, and the local school.

“In this situation, when we had the first two cases, we could have tested all the other children before allowing them entry and that way it would not have spread,” he told Global News.

Findlay is among dozens of parents and child care providers calling on the British Columbia government to provide greater access to federally funded rapid tests, including the nearly 2 million tests currently in storage, to help curb transmission. especially among children who are too young to be vaccinated. .

Vancouver mother Dana McDonald said she ordered 25 rapid tests for $ 250 through an online retailer to test her son.

Other parents have also been asking to use the tests, he said, because they believe the province’s response is insufficient.

“It has been a great stress reliever to rule out COVID before sending him back after his symptoms have subsided,” McDonald said.

Both Alberta and Quebec have announced that they will make take-home rapid test kits available to the general public starting next week.

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In a statement to Global News, the BC government said the provincial health office and the BC Center for Disease Control are reviewing the guide for child care centers and will provide updates as needed.

The current guidance recommends that child care staff and other adults should wear a mask when indoors and interact with other adults, as well as that staff and children wash their hands frequently, complete daily health checks, and assist any sick person to stay home.

BC’s current COVID-19 testing policy is based on the PCR test, for which a person must show symptoms before being eligible.

“BC’s approach to testing increases the likelihood that those most at risk of contracting or transmitting the virus will be tested immediately,” the statement read.

“This approach enables public health to detect COVID-19 cases early, reducing transmission in our communities and helping us all keep safer from the virus.”

The province is also waiting for the federal government to deliver rapid test kits that can be administered at home, adding that the 2 million kits in storage require the support of a nurse to administer.

Meanwhile, parents like Chantal Moore from Vancouver have made the decision to remove their son from daycare due to concerns about the spread of the virus.

Moore is still paying for her two-year-old son Wesley to attend daycare, but she hasn’t sent him. The only way I could be guaranteed to keep a daycare place that waited more than a year was to keep paying.

“They told me that if I took it out, I would lose the space, and I have to pay for a space that I can’t use.”

Rapid tests would give him more confidence, he said, especially since he has immunosuppressed people in his family.

“I think rapid tests would be a game changer in BC. It’s a tool in our toolkit,” Moore said.

Some child care providers have raised concerns about testing children. The rapid test can irritate the nose and some children may be reluctant to try it.

Other facilities have strict policies on symptoms, sending children home if they show just a runny nose.

Alison Merton, director of Collingwood Neighborhood House in East Vancouver, said testing children would be challenging, but rapid tests should be available to adults working in child care.

“It would allow us, as an agency, to put together a plan much faster than we do now, when we’re sitting around waiting for the tests to come back,” Merton said.

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