Ottawa small businesses getting access to COVID-19 rapid tests starting next week

Ottawa Board of Trade (OBoT) plans to start distributing free COVID-19 rapid testing kits to businesses with under 150 employes, starting next week.

OBoT says it will all happen at Invest Ottawa’s headquarters at Bayview Yards on Wednesday, May 26, starting at 10 a.m. 

It's part of a province-wide plan to provide an estimated 760,000+ kits to small and medium sized businesses before Labour Day weekend. Larger businesses are being asked to get their kits directly from the Government of Ontario.

“These kits are an integral part of the rebound and recovery of Ottawa businesses as they will provide twice weekly screening of employees,” says OBoT President and CEO Sueling Ching. “This will help protect employees, co-workers and their customers by significantly reducing transmission. A positive test will require an immediate departure from work by the employee and a follow-up test by Ottawa Public Health. This program is part of OBoT’s work, since COVID-19 hit our region, to support innovative and creative ways to keep businesses open safely.”

This local distribution is partially sponsored by Commissionaires Ottawa, one of the largest private sector employers in the National Capital Region with 3,800+ employees locally, many of them veterans. 

“Since COVID-19 became a global crisis, commissionaires have been deployed to shelters, respite centres, long term care homes, pop-up vaccination clinics, vaccine storage centres, and medical supply warehouses,” explains Commissionaires Ottawa CEO and distinguished veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces Paul Guindon. “Supporting the Ottawa Board of Trade’s efforts to get rapid testing out to the business community as quickly as possible is yet another way we want to help protect people.”