Ontario Chamber Network Ramps Up Deliveries of Rapid Test Kits to Small Businesses Provincewide

(TORONTO – June 9, 2021) –  Today, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Ontario Government announced that the Ontario Chamber Network has supported the delivery of 2.4 million free rapid test kits in over 105 communities across the province through the COVID-19 Rapid Screening Initiative in partnership with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Ontario and Canadian governments.

Through this initiative, local chambers of commerce and boards of trade are rolling out free rapid tests for small- and medium-sized businesses. The program is helping small businesses keep their employees and families safe by curbing the spread of COVID-19 at work so that we can get on the path to economic recovery faster.

“With vaccinations on the rise and case counts lowering, rapid testing is another critical part of curbing the spread of COVID-19, contributing to the safe reopening of our economy. As the indispensable partner of business, we are incredibly proud of the Ontario Chamber Network that has quickly mobilized to put free rapid screening kits into the hands of small businesses across Ontario,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

The COVID-19 Rapid Screening Initiative provides free rapid antigen tests for employees of small and medium-sized businesses. The tests are distributed through participating local chambers of commerce and boards of trade in Ontario. Businesses (including non-chamber members) with 150 employees or less are welcome to participate in this program. The goal of the program is to identify asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in the workplace that might otherwise be missed, helping to curb the spread in the workplace, at home and around the community.

The Initiative builds upon the success of the program that was first successfully piloted in the Waterloo region by the Greater Kitchener Waterloo and Cambridge Chambers of Commerce in partnership with Communitech, the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada. Through this pilot, the chambers have delivered 300,000 kits to almost 3,000 businesses in the region.

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.

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About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
For more than a century, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has been the independent, non-partisan, indispensable partner of Ontario business. The OCC’s mission is to support economic growth in Ontario by defending business priorities at Queen’s Park on behalf of its network’s diverse 60,000 members.

For more information, please contact:
Ceara Copps – Edwards
Manager, Public Affairs
cearacoppsedwards@occ.ca | Mobile: (647) 936-6734