Saskatchewan Experiences COVID-19 Testing Business Boom | The Canadian News

Brie Ford says the company she works for fulfills a vital need in the community: providing rapid COVID-19 antigen tests.

“We were looking at Melville for options for our staff members to get tested because they have to provide them with jobs,” he said, telling Global News that they decided to take on the task themselves.

Fossum Electrics, where he is Operations Manager, now offers COVID-19 testing to the public.

Although they just started last week, she says the company is providing 20-25 tests per week so far.

Since the Saskatchewan government opened the doors to private companies, construction companies, an oil field, even a Ukrainian dance studio now offers the rapid tests, according to the Saskatchewan government. website.

There is also a strip of companies with names that include words you would probably expect on a test site, words like “clinic” and “test.”

Global News contacted several construction or welding companies to ask why the business owners decided to start offering the services. They declined the interviews.

A new testing business owner is also the treasurer of a group that tried to launch an injunction against the Saskatchewan government’s vaccination test measure.

A Queen’s Bench judge struck down the request.

Kayla Roesch, in a telephone interview, said she saw an emerging need for testing.

“I wanted the tests to be available and accessible to everyone. I’m testing vaccinated and unvaccinated people, ”he said.

She said none of her clients had expressed any doubts about her trying them.

The Saskatchewan government requires six things from companies that want to offer antigen testing.

Test providers must:

• use tests approved by Health Canada
• have all staff members administering the test complete the course online (which includes some email interaction with government officials)
• have a corporate website that displays fees
• Have a documented process for referring clients with positive results to Healthline 811.
• Document and provide all testing to the Saskatchewan Health Authority weekly.
• issue certificates with test information

Approximately 70 companies now offer testing services in more than 50 Saskatchewan municipalities, although not all offices are open every day. Count does not include exam delivery sites.

An established tester and a registered nurse told Global News they are concerned that the companies now offering the services may not have the necessary medical expertise.

“If you don’t have that experience,” said Shirley Galloway, “it’s hard to answer some of those pointy scientific questions.”

Galloway is the president of Nobel HSSE Ltd., one of the first companies to offer testing in Saskatchewan. She said her staff is made up of people with medical and scientific backgrounds because they are all biochemists, medical laboratory technologists, and the like.

Speaking from Oxbox, Sask., He said that more testing is definitely a good thing, but that he was envisioning labs and clinics taking on the role.

In a statement, the Health Ministry says it is working with the public safety agency to address any issues with the test sites.

“SHA public health inspectors would follow up on concerns related to public health violations should they occur, as they would with any public health problem for any company that provides services to the public,” he said.

The Health Ministry also said that anyone who tests positive should contact 8-1-1.