"The problem now is that even if you have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, you may not be able to confirm whether you are infected with COVID-19 because you have not been able to buy a test kit." Xiao K, a Chinese student currently in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, told Red Star News.
At minus 20 degrees, Toronto citizens lined up outdoors to receive a free rapid test kit
On January 14, local time, canada released an epidemic prediction model showing that the epidemic caused by the Aomi Kerong variant strain will peak in the middle and late of this month, when the actual number of new infections in Canada will be between 170,000 and 300,000 cases in a single day, and the number of hospitalizations will surge. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist in Canada, previously said that Ontario's current COVID-19 testing capacity is limited, and the actual number of infections may far exceed official statistics.
David Naylor, co-chair of the Canadian federal government's COVID-19 working group, said in a previous interview that countless Canadians may now be infected with COVID-19 but cannot be tested and treated in time, which can make them feel abandoned by society.
According to foreign media reports, due to the surge in the number of covid-19 cases in Canada caused by the Aomi Kerong variant strain, the capacity of testing centers is saturated, and many regions are reducing nucleic acid (PCR) testing (currently the most effective way to detect new crown) and calling for people to use rapid test kits as much as possible. Last December, the Federal Government of Canada provided 85 million rapid test kits to provinces and territories. The federal government said it would allocate an additional 140 million rapid test kits to provinces and territories this month.
"When I bought the self-test box, I felt like I was almost cured"
Although the Canadian government announced that it would be free to distribute rapid test kits, people said it would be difficult to grab a quick test kit. "We simply can't grab the government-issued rapid test box, and the official sales channels have been out of stock." Although the school will also send it, the appointment page will show that it has been emptied as soon as it loads. There is no way, we can only buy the quick test box through other channels. "Other channels in the small K mouth refer to the purchase of quick test kits from middlemen at higher prices than the market. Xiao K explained: "I saw that other channels had goods this time, so I bought 7 boxes at a time. Because I really felt desperate when I couldn't buy a quick test box at a high price, I was lucky to be able to buy a quick test box now. ”
According to the official website of a canadian quick test box, 5 quick test boxes have been sold out
Xiao K said that he needed 16 Canadian dollars (about 81 yuan) to do a test through a rapid test box purchased by a middleman. The official website of a Canadian special sale of rapid test boxes shows that the price of a 5-pack rapid test box is about 50 Canadian dollars, and it is about 10 Canadian dollars to do a test, but the official sales channel has been out of stock.
Xiao K told Red Star News that he had symptoms related to the new crown infection in early January, and only bought a rapid test kit in mid-January. By the time I measured it, I was almost cured. She said: "I just received the third dose of Pfizer vaccine on January 5, and after going to a friend's house for dinner on the evening of January 7, I had symptoms of fever, and I thought it might be normal after vaccination, so I didn't pay much attention." "However, in the early morning of January 11, Xiao K began to have a fever again, accompanied by cough, nasal congestion and other symptoms. Because she could not buy a quick test box at that time, she could not determine whether she had the flu or the new crown, and could only alleviate her symptoms by taking medicine, "I began to take two cold medicines such as Tylenol and Lotus Qing plague on the morning of the 11th, and after taking the medicine, I burned to 38.5 degrees in the afternoon." Then I took the medicine again, and the fever subsided. ”
Xiao K said that it was not until January 14 that he bought a rapid test kit through a middleman, and two bars appeared in the test results to determine that he was infected with the new crown virus. She added: "When I tested, the second red line was already relatively light. She speculated that it was because she had taken medication and the symptoms were no longer so obvious.
"The quick test kit couldn't detect what variant of the new coronavirus it was, but I guess it could be Omeikron because its infection rate is so high." K said that he only went to a friend's house once to eat, and when he returned, a total of 7 people, including himself and two roommates, were diagnosed with the new crown. "I don't know who is the 'zero' patient among us, because the first symptomatic friend has not bought a self-test box until now, and there is no way to confirm whether he is infected with the new crown."
On January 16, when Xiao K tested again, the results were negative. "Now there is a feeling of being bitten by a snake and being afraid of the well rope for ten years, but in the future, we must still do a good job of protection and try not to go out."
"Waiting in line to get a test box at minus 20 degrees, but not necessarily getting it"
"The time for the government to distribute rapid test kits generally starts at nine o'clock in the morning, and when I arrive at the location of the test kit at eight o'clock, the people in the front queue can no longer see their heads." Many locals line up with benches and thermos cups. Xiao Z, a Chinese student in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, said that he lined up 5 times to receive the fast test box distributed by the government for free, but only received it twice. Xiao Z said that Canada's PCR detection volume has reached its limit, the local government in Toronto will entrust shopping malls or schools to issue self-test boxes, "Toronto City will open a point every day to issue rapid test boxes, generally speaking, each time will be about 1,000 copies of rapid test boxes." It is reported that the location of the test box will be updated once a week on the relevant website, and each person can only receive one rapid test box per day.
International student Xiao Z said that the people who lined up to receive the test box had circled around the mall
"Leading the rapid test box a lot of times have to queue up outdoors, now the outdoor temperature in Canada is minus 20 degrees, when queuing, I feel frozen into an ice sculpture, but what is more devastating is that sometimes the queue may not be able to get it," Xiao Z said, "The last time I went to the mall to get the rapid test box, it was not yet nine o'clock, but the first floor of the entire mall was already full, and the queue was already lined up to the basement." ”
Xiao Z said that he had also considered buying a quick test box on the official website, but he couldn't buy it at all. "On December 24 last year, a friend gave me a box of rapid test boxes, and at that time, I saw on social platforms that many international students in Canada and the United Kingdom were using fast test boxes, so I was ready to buy some myself. But when I went to the website on January 2, I found that all the website's quick test boxes were sold out, and only one could accept reservations, but it could not be shipped until mid-January when it was scheduled in December. I started to feel nervous. He explained: "Now the Canadian government can grab the rapid test box is also very limited, to give priority to the front-line staff, other citizens can only wait slowly." No way, things are scarce and expensive. ”
Small z the second free to get a quick test box
Xiao Z also introduced that because the epidemic in Canada is serious again, now in addition to the rapid test box, the medical alcohol in the large supermarket has also been sold out. "Datonghua, the largest overseas Chinese chain supermarket, is also implementing drug purchase restrictions, and one person can only buy one box of Lotus Qing plague capsules."
Z has been in Canada since 2019. He said that at the beginning, the Canadian government did not pay attention to the epidemic, and when the reaction began to pay attention, no effective measures were introduced. So the two ends of the three days "lockdown", but the implementation is very limited. "I have experienced at least three so-called lockdowns, with the government saying that no multi-person gatherings are allowed and restaurants are not allowed to serve dine-in. However, law enforcement efforts are very limited, and no substantial progress has been made, basically relying on warmer weather to reduce the number of infections. ”
According to reports, in response to the rising number of infected people brought by the menacing Aomi Kerong variant strain, Canada approved Pfizer's oral COVID-19 drug Paxlovid on Monday local time for the treatment of mild-to-moderate adults infected with new crown pneumonia. According to Pfizer in November, Paxlovid will reduce hospital admissions or mortality from COVID-19 by 89 percent. Canada has reportedly pre-ordered 1 million doses of the drug, the first batch of 30,000 doses will be distributed per capita, and more will arrive in the coming days.
Red Star News reporter Fan Xu Intern reporter Li Jinrui
Edited by Guo Yu
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