Yesterday, the City of Brampton announced that its Economic Development Office, in coordination with the Brampton Emergency Management Office, has partnered with Altitude Accelerator to provide small to medium-sized businesses in Brampton with free COVID-19 rapid screening kits to slow the spread of COVID-19 and ensure a swift local economic recovery.

Rapid antigen screening is a quick way to help identify asymptomatic COVID-19 cases before they lead to workplace outbreaks. Identifying asymptomatic and presymptomatic individuals early is an effective way of limiting spread within both workplaces and the community.

Funded by the federal and provincial governments, this program is free for all Brampton businesses with fewer than 150 employees who can’t work from home or physically distance while at work. The rapid antigen point-of-care screening tests allow employees to test themselves before work and see the results of that test within minutes. If an employee tests positive, an employer can then send them to the nearest COVID testing centre for more conclusive testing without running the risk of exposing other employees to the virus.

Training and registration are required for participation in this program before picking up the first order. Organizations can learn more about the program and sign up here: www.brampton.ca/rapidtesting

Businesses with over 150 employees can order directly from the Ontario government portal.

Businesses in Mississauga should connect with the Mississauga Board of Trade to find out more about accessing rapid antigen screening kits: www.mbot.com/rapid-antigen-screening-kit/

Click here to see which chambers and boards of trade are participating in the program to date. More chambers of commerce and boards of trade will be joining in the coming weeks.

Questions? Please contact the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre at bec@brampton.ca​