* EDITOR'S NOTE: This story previously listed the Value Drug Mart in Athabasca as one of the participating pharmacies in the pilot program, but the list has since been updated and the Value Drug Mart is no longer on it.
BARRHEAD - A local pharmacy in Barrhead is offering testing for COVID-19 to residents who aren’t demonstrating any symptoms of the virus and have had no known exposure to COVID-19.
On July 30, the province announced that it was expanding a pilot program originally conducted in June wherein a group of community pharmacies offered COVID-19 tests to more than 10,300 Albertans.
The pharmacy test is a throat swab, which is sent on to Alberta Precision Labs for analysis.
Rita’s Apothecary and Home Health Care in Barrhead is one of 97 pharmacies across the province participating in this expanded testing program.
Anyone who wants to be tested for the virus at a participating local pharmacy should phone ahead. A list of of other pharmacies conducting tests can be found at the Alberta Blue Cross website (www.ab.bluecross.ca).
“With cases on the rise in Alberta, we must all do our part in the fight against COVID-19,” said chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, in a release.
“The actions we each take today will help protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities tomorrow. Testing helps us understand more about the spread of COVID-19 in Alberta.”
It should be stressed again that anyone who has been knowingly exposed to COVID-19 or is demonstrating symptoms should not be tested at a pharmacy.
Instead, they should call 811 or book a test online through myhealth.alberta.ca, which contains more information about what to do in case of infection.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, a new or worsening cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, runny nose, sore throat, chills, painful swallowing, headache, muscle or joint aches, nausea or vomiting, a loss of sense of smell or taste, pink eye (conjunctivitis) and a general feeling of fatigue and severe exhaustion.
To date, nearly 677,000 tests for COVID-19 have been performed on more than 566,000 Albertans.
