ericw

The shelf life is only a year and you probably can get a PCR test cheaper or for free at home.

FlyerJ

Yes.

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I don’t think most provinces are doing free PCR testing for everyone anymore, and are instead triaging testing for people with medical need only.

And most pay-for facilities will not allow symptomatic testing, so if you’re sick (ie looking for a Positive test, which means you have symptoms) they won’t test.

IMO if you catch COVID in Canada and want proof for future travel, the at-home LAMP test is probably the best option.

I think Switch’s LAMP tests are priced pretty well compared to what I see here in YYC for private PCR tests.

RZR

If returning to Canada from a trip to USA via air , are we subject to quarantine and the random PCR test at the airport upon arrival?
NOt sure if this applied to USA or just other countries.
I have a short 2 nite trip I need to take to USA and really cant afford to quarantine upon arrival due to my schedule presently. MAy need to cancel the trip.
Thx for feedback all.

JCKOTT

I believe fully vaccinated Canadian citizens do not need to quarantine.

You do need a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departing USA for Canada. You may also be random PCR tested on arrival.

willflyforfood

Full credit to the Switch folks for the PCR-LAMP kits - I've bought 24 kits and have not had a failure yet.
They are critical for people who travel and don't want to waste time looking for a lab, or stressing about getting results in a timely fashion.
Our family has never had the validity of the results questioned, but we were always returning by air into Canada, so can't speak to using it for a land crossing.

ericw

If US/CAN only, you don't need to quarantine while waiting for the random arrival PCR test results.

If you visited countries other than US/CAN in the last 14 days, and you are selected for random testing, you MUST quarantine till you get the negative result. Therefore, it is best to get swabbed at the airport than taking a test kit home. Mine took 3 days from Switch Health. Also, you must report your arrival at place of quarantine within 48 hours of entry to PHAC (this requirement is not on the travel.gc.ca website, but in the email reminder you receive - prob from ArriveCAN)

Adam Smith

Temporarily closed pending moderator review.

Adam Smith

After some discussion between the moderators, this thread seems to consistently wander away from any relation to AC and, at times, even the Switch Health test kits purchased through AC (which can also be purchased direct from Switch and through other channels), so we're going to close it.

If anyone has any questions relating specifically to the AC/Aeroplan-Switch partnership (e.g. not being credited with Aeroplan points for making the purchases), please feel free to PM me or @tcook052 and we'll consider reopening it.

For those looking for general advice and discussion on Canadian (re-)entry requirements, optimal timing of testing, etc, please see the thread on Canadian entry requirements over on the Canada forum.

If you're interested in general discussion of COVID testing, such as which tests are better, rates of false positives, etc, you may find topics of interest over in the coronavirus travel forum.

Adam Smith
AC Forum Co-Moderator

24left

I am posting here and assume the mods will merge this post, perhaps into the closed thread AC partners with Switch Health for COVID-19 molecular & antigen self-test kits [Moderator note: Merged, and will remain closed to avoid this once again becoming an off topic discussion - Adam Smith, AC Forum Co-Moderator]

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