Photo: Government of Alberta

By Emily Keller

Asymptomatic testing

Asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for those with no known exposures to be offered at select pharmacies in Alberta

Jun 25, 2020 | 3:50 PM

Asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 is now being rolled out at community pharmacies in Alberta.

The province has announced that community pharmacies will begin to offer testing for those without symptoms and no known exposure to COVID-19. Over 415,000 tests have been completed across Alberta.

Over the coming days, 20 community pharmacies located mostly in Edmonton and Calgary, will begin to offer testing. The pharmacy test will be a throat swab, which will then be sent to Alberta Precision Labs for analysis.

The province says that the amount of pharmacies offering the testing is limited to ensure the processes of test materials and data is work before expanding, and that additional pharmacies will begin to offer testing in the upcoming weeks.

“Our testing data has shown that the vast majority of Albertans who have gone for testing without symptoms or known exposure to COVID have tested negative. This is encouraging,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health. “Whether you have symptoms or not, please consider getting tested. You are helping us understand more about the spread of COVID-19 in Alberta.”

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Only those who are asymptomatic and have no known exposures to COVID-19 will be tested at these pharmacies, and Alberta Health Services will contact any Albertan who tests positive directly.