Greater Moncton businesses are making good use of free rapid testing kits amid the fourth wave of COVID-19.
Since the pilot project was announced on July 6, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton has distributed about 7,300 tests to 45 companies, according to John Wishart, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton.
“Most of them appreciate that there’s some way for them to provide rapid tests to their staff,” said Wishart.
The kits have proved useful for restaurants, manufacturing facilities, hotels and a homeless shelter.
An additional resource has been especially useful given the evolving landscape of the pandemic.
When the project was introduced, New Brunswick had 10 active case of COVID-19. In August, the province’s active caseload reached 173.
“It has caused some sort of sober second thought among a lot of business owners who feel ‘Okay it is a good preventive step for me to make sure my employees are protected and tested regularly and I can tell people who enter my premises that we have this program and we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe.’”
According to the CEO, the business community continues to feel a lot of anxiety through the uncertainty.
The offering of testing kits will be reassessed at the end of the 12 week pilot project.
