University of Victoria trying to get rapid tests to students, staff amid COVID-19 outbreak

The University of Victoria is working with Island Health to get rapid at-home tests to students and staff as it grapples with an outbreak of COVID-19 that includes the new Omicron variant.

Those with symptoms of the virus or anyone identified as a close contact of a positive case are being asked to book an appointment to pick up a test through the university’s website.

The take-home testing kits are available on a “short-term basis,” the university said Thursday, in response to the recent cluster of COVID-19 cases.

At least four cases of the Omicron variant have been linked to a varsity rugby tournament in Kingston, Ont., more than two weeks ago, which the university’s team played in.

In the university’s last update, it said there are about 124 cases of COVID-19 in its cluster linked to off-campus events. In-person exams were cancelled this week to help keep students safe.

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Elsewhere in B.C., the provincial government has said it’s not ready to offer at-home rapid testing to the general public, as the Omicron variant continues to spread and raise questions about bringing back additional public health restrictions.

There are around 700,000 tests available for home use, but provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said it would be challenging to break down the large packages of testing fluid into dozens of kits.

In Nova Scotia, volunteers helped to break apart kits and distribute the testing fluid, allowing the province to distribute kits of five tests to the public.

Some presumptive cases of the Omicron variant in that province are also suspected to be tied to the Queen’s University rugby tournament.