Manitoba reached a testing milestone this past weekend and has completed 500,000 tests for COVID-19 at provincial sites. The province’s testing strategy aims to protect Manitobans by quickly identifying positives and slowing the spread of the virus.
“Immediate testing is one of the cornerstones of our COVID-19 response and is absolutely essential in stopping the spread of the virus,” said Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson. “The wide availability of our testing centres and fast test result turnaround have helped us keep our COVID-19 curve low in the last few weeks and enabled us to reopen some services and activities that are part of our normal lives.”
Manitoba’s COVID-19 testing approach is based on public health evidence. As the pandemic has evolved over the last year, testing eligibility criteria has expanded to guide the province’s response.
Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 is eligible for testing. Only symptomatic individuals or those advised by public health should visit a COVID-19 testing site.
“I’d like to remind Manitobans that you must immediately self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 as soon as you have symptoms, no matter how mild they seem to you,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer. “Your whole household should also self-isolate while you wait for your test results to ensure you don’t spread the virus further. This, in addition to following the fundamentals including frequent handwashing, staying home when sick and wearing a mask, will help us keep our numbers down and continue in the right direction.”
For more information on COVID-19 testing, visit gov.mb.ca.
