Albertans can now head to one of 20 local pharmacies to be tested for the coronavirus, but you’ll have to phone around to find a location that’s offering testing.
On June 25, Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced expanded testing capacity at 20 pharmacies in the province. The move was an effort to make it even easier for Albertans to be tested. The pharmacies are set up to test people without COVID-19 symptoms.
While Alberta Health said the initial 20 pharmacies are primarily located in Calgary and Edmonton, the names and exact locations are not being made public.
A spokesperson for Alberta Health said the move not to disclose the locations was made to ensure testing sites are not overwhelmed. Instead, asymptomatic Albertans are encouraged to talk to their local pharmacist to see if testing is available at that location, the province said.
As of Friday, labs had processed 145 samples for asymptomatic coronavirus tests from participating pilot pharmacies. It’s expected more locations will be added in the coming weeks.
Testing at pharmacies will not be facilitated through 811, although 811 and the online assessment tool can be used to set up appointments for both symptomatic and asymptomatic testing.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Alberta had performed 493,935 tests for the coronavirus.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 8,436 cases of COVID-19 in Alberta. As of Tuesday, there were 620 active cases in the province. A total of 157 people have died of COVID-19 in Alberta.