Photo Courtesy of My96

By Chris Brown

Now in pharmacies

Added availability for asymptomatic testing in Medicine Hat

Jul 17, 2020 | 5:03 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – At least one Medicine Hat pharmacy is now offering asymptomatic COVID-19 testing.

In late June the provincial government announced pharmacies would be allowed to offer testing in stores.

It was limited then to mainly the Calgary and Edmonton areas, but other parts of the province were to be rolled out a few weeks later.

Now the Shoppers Drug Mart in Crescent Heights is advertising the testing and asks people to call ahead to book an appointment.

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South Zone medical officer of health Dr. Shobhit Maruti says asymptomatic testing can be helpful, but cautions a negative test only covers that testing time and doesn’t mean you can stop following the now-familiar health precautions.

“If you got swabbed on July 1 at 12 noon and then you went out to a mass gathering or you went camping or something and there was someone who was sick and you got exposed on July 2 it could very well be when you get your results on July 3 by then you may be positive in the sense of symptomatically positive,” he says.

Maruti adds those people shouldn’t ignore symptoms if they begin to appear after been they’ve been tested, or received negative results. He says days three to five after symptoms appear is the most likely time for viral colonies to be picked up in the swabs.

That’s part of the reason Maruti says asymptomatic testing is good but that symptomatic testing is preferred.

“We always prefer that you lean towards symptomatic swabbing because it’s a more valid test.”

A full list of local pharmacies doing the testing isn’t available, so you should call your neighbourhood pharmacy to see if it’s being offered there.

AHS is also providing testing. Appointments can be made at ahs.ca/covid or by calling 811.

The tests are now being done with a throat swab instead of nasal, says Maruti.

The timeframe for results is two to four days on average. Anyone getting tested will be encouraged to receive any negative results through automated messages, thereby freeing AHS staff to call any positive results directly and begin the contact tracing process and notification of close contacts.

A close contact is considered to be someone you’ve spent at least 15 minutes with in close proximity, says Maruti. He adds that in the case of any positive test people should let AHS lead the contract tracing so as to not create unnecessary fears in others.

Asymptomatic testing began in late May. The South Zone is averaging 450-500 tests on weekday and about 275 on weekends.

Maruti offers five preventive measures to be reinforced.

“If you’re sick or you think you’re sick just don’t go to work or out,” he says. Some people will feel they’re letting co-workers down, but Maruti says they’ll appreciate you more for staying home.

Physical distancing is huge, he says and you should maintain it even if you are wearing a mask.

Remember to wash your hands as often as possible and lastly, just be kind, Maruti says.

“Now that things have relaunched and things have opened up and people have really been co-operative the last three four months and the weather is nice, it’s just a release,” he says. “Everyone wants a release, right? So do your release but in a very controlled sense with those five pieces of advice.”