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Since affordability is an enormous barrier for accessing rapid tests in Newfoundland and Labrador, without increased access, some will opt not to get tested at all. Unlike NL, the Government of Ontario, and most other provinces, have widely distributed free rapid tests to everyone because they believe that by providing rapid tests to the general public they will help detect COVID‑19 earlier and stop the spread of the virus.

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By restricting access in NL, we are actually putting our population more at risk. Those who cannot get tested, either due to eligibility or cost, will continue to work and/or exist in the public domain and therefore potentially spread the virus even further. Our health experts have continually pointed out that when the influenza virus is active they do not swab all infected individuals, just those in high risk categories. However, I think it is inaccurate to compare the influenza virus to the COVID-19 virus. According to John Hopkins Medicine the mortality rate for COVID-19 is substantially higher than most strains of the flu.

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The government of NL needs to step up and stop putting unnecessary stress on individuals and their bank accounts. They need to stop communicating the message that certain people matter more than others. We are a small province and we need to work together to defeat this virus and stop its spread. We cannot allow certain people to fall through the cracks since they do not fit into some predetermined box. No one person is less important and we all have the ability to infect someone else. In a province that has publicly funded healthcare, healthcare should be public. Everyone, it doesn’t matter what boxes they tick, should have access to free rapid tests.

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Various retail outlets across in NL are selling rapid tests for different prices. For example, Marie's Mini Mart sells a single rapid test for $14.99 and two rapid tests for $24.99, while Dominion in Stephenville charges $36 for 5 rapid tests. And then you have a pharmacy in Happy Valley-Goose Bay that charges $46 for just two rapid tests.  The result of the current system is a society comprised of haves and have nots. My friend, who has 3 children, has approximately 90 free rapid tests at home that were distributed by the school system. Whereas I have a co-worker, in another town, who meets neither the free rapid test, or PCR testing criteria, who was forced to spend $250 to verify she actually had COVID-19 since it often takes more than one test to confirm.

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To complicate matters, the provincial government has publicly confirmed that they are now only providing COVID-19 PCR tests in select circumstances. To be eligible you must be either under 2 years old, or over 60, pregnant, Indigenous, or chronically ill. Those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and do not meet the PCR criteria have no choice but to take a rapid test. If they can't access or afford a rapid test, they have to self-isolate, even if they aren't sure if they have COVID-19. With the costs of rapid tests soaring in the private sector this is damaging to those who have a low income and no work benefits, like paid sick leave.

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Most provinces and territories offer free COVID-19 rapid tests that can be picked up at pharmacies, grocery stores and even libraries. The federal government has paid for over 140 million of them. Newfoundland and Labrador, however, is one of the only provinces that refuses provide them to the general public for free. Instead, the provincial government is using those they do have, about 1.4 million rapid tests, and is distributing them to only certain cohorts. These include schools and daycare centers, people working and living in congregate living facilities, and those working in health care.

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Newfoundland and Labrador’s top doctor discusses changes to COVID-19 PCR testing – March 18, 2022