The Government of Saskatchewan will be expanding the public distribution of self-tests for COVID-19 in an attempt to accelerate the detection of asymptomatic cases in the province.

The province is expected to receive one million self-tests from the federal government by mid-October, and they are also considering buying more to supplement the supply.

The kits will be available through Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency bases, municipal and First Nations fire halls, and at select Saskatchewan Health Authority locations. They are also exploring the possibility of making them available at public locations.

With this change, the Saskatchewan Health Authorities public PCR testing sites will shift their focus toward those experiencing symptoms, those with a positive self-test result, close contacts, persons identified in an outbreak, immunocompromised residents, staff or students of educational institutions, and those who require transfer or admission to long-term care, personal-care home, social services care, and acute care facilities.

Information on testing sites including locations and hours of operation is available at Saskatchewan.ca/covid-19.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority will also be supplying 475,000 self-tests to Saskatchewan elementary schools. This will target households with students aged 11 and under, and those not yet eligible for vaccination.

Starting October 4, if you have a child age 11 or under attending school, you can contact that school about receiving a home, self-testing kit. More information will be sent home with students in the coming days.

Residents who require a negative test will be responsible for purchasing a test from a private test provider. Test results from the provincial lab or from a provincially supplied self-test, such as workplaces or school screening, will NOT be accepted as proof of a negative result.

A list of private test providers is available at Saskatchewan.ca.