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March 15, 2022 - 3:31 PM
COVID rapid antigen test kits can now be picked up at B.C. pharmacies by anyone over the age of 40.
Five test strips come with each kit but people have to wait 28 days to pick up a second test kit, according to a Ministry of Health press release issued today, March 15. They are all free.
The announcement comes on the same day as the number of people in hospital with COVID continues its slow but steady drop, reaching 345 today, down from 359 yesterday, the ministry said. Of those, 50 are in intensive care units, down from 51 yesterday.
About half the of people in hospital with a COVID diagnosis were not in there because of COVID but were tested after going to hospital for things like surgery, delivering a baby or being admitted to a mental health unit.
There were 237 new cases of COVID reported in the past 24 hours, including 69 in Interior Health, 70 in Fraser Health, 40 in Vancouver Coastal, 34 on Vancouver Island and 24 in the Northern Health region.
The real number of cases is estimated to be three to four times higher because many people infected with COVID are not getting tested or take rapid tests that are not recorded in these figures.
No new deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving the provincial death toll at 2,946.
The vaccination rate for people over the age of 12 with at least one dose was unchanged at 93.4%, as was the 90.9% who have at least two doses and 56.7% who have three doses.
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