Teachers and educators, who were swimming in confusion last week, do have access to COVID-19 screening centers, the Ministry of Health having finally changed its instructions on Monday.
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“From now on, the instruction will be as follows: school staff and those of the various childcare establishments are among the priority clienteles, if they are symptomatic”, indicates the Ministry of Health by email.
Since January 15, teachers, educators and other school staff have been among those with access to PCR tests in screening centers, unlike the general population.
However, the Journal published on Saturday the testimony of education workers who were surprised to be denied access, even after making an appointment online.
In the office of the Minister of Education, we insisted that everyone who works in schools was supposed to have access to screening centres.
But on the government website quebec.ca, you could still read Monday morning a much more limiting instruction: only school staff members who did not have rapid tests in their environment had access to PCR tests.
The instructions were finally changed Monday noon. The clarification on access to rapid tests has been removed.
More details to come.