Anyone entering Halifax by air will have a chance to get tested for COVID-19 directly at the airport upon arrival as of Tuesday morning. For months, the Halifax International Airport has been calling for testing to be brought to the airport to better track the virus as travellers enter the province.
“We want to be part of the solution here at the airport,” said Halifax International Airport Authority spokesperson Tiffany Chase.
“We know that the testing is an important part of Nova Scotia’s strategy for a safe reopening of our province and so we feel like it makes it really convenient to offer the testing here right at the airport.”
Currently, travellers are only allowed into Nova Scotia for essential reasons so all travellers will have to first prove they have been approved and completed the Safe Check In form. After collecting their baggage, people will then be guided to the testing registration site.
The testing program will not be mandatory, but the province does encourage all travellers to get tested twice during their first 14 days in the province — once on their first or second day and again on day 12, 13 or 14.
Any individual who chooses not to take a test will be required to opt out at the registration site. Travellers who choose to get tested will then be provided a self-swab test and can proceed to one of eight stations to complete the test.
“There will be supervisors here from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. with Nova Scotia Health to help you if you need help,” said Chase.
For passengers arriving outside those hours, there will be an option to collect a test and take it to wherever they are staying to complete there and then return it to a primary assessment centre within 48 hours.
The test kits are for PCR tests but unlike tests conducted at primary assessment centres, they are self-swab kits and do not require the individual to go deep into their nose. Instead, individuals will swab the back of their throat and then only two to three centimetres inside each nostril.
Rotational workers coming home to Nova Scotia are required to do three tests throughout their first 14 days in the province and the tests at the airport will count as their first test. For all other travellers, the testing program will not replace the self-isolation requirement so even travellers who test negative will be required to complete their 14 days of self-isolation.
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