OBSOLETE COVID THREAD RT-LAMP tests available for travellers from Canada to take with us.

[Former member 91017]

Those flying to/from Canada can google “RT-LAMP Switch Health” and receive the full details from the Switch Health company.

But here are the basics: you order the kit in advance of your trip — I’d suggest a lead-time of 1 month because they sometimes run out.

The kit arrives with 2 tests in it. One is for departure from Canada; the other for your return. (And if the rules fluctuate and your carrier does not require you to have a test before boarding your plane out of Canada, then you have a test you can use on the ground during your camino).

I do not know how much they cost on the open market, but Air Canada passengers can buy them with aeroplan miles (which is what I did).

The tests are good in their unbroken packages for 9 months.

You can take the test and have a QR code sent back in 45 minutes after the health provider on the other end has observed you taking the test and receiving the results where you are. No appointments, no searching for a location to do the test, and no lag time to worry about.

I have a kit arriving for me for my April Norte…. And one will be a stocking stuffer for Dear Spouse, who has the cancelled CP finally rescheduled and ticketed for May. He departs on his camino a week after I return from mine.

We are assuming that things will continue on a positive trajectory from here, and we heard from our FP last week that our entire family will be eligible to have our Pfizer/Comirnity booster shots (those things I was told were conjecture and probably unnecessary) in December.

Things are looking up, and like some of the logistics are improving.

If you’re anxious about the testing or the booster issue (or both), take heart. And to my fellow residents in Canada, I heard today that there’s a 20% off Osprey sale at MEC.

Buen Camino a todos.

 

[IngridF]

Those flying to/from Canada can google “RT-LAMP Switch Health” and receive the full details from the Switch Health company.

But here are the basics: you order the kit in advance of your trip — I’d suggest a lead-time of 1 month because they sometimes run out.

The kit arrives with 2 tests in it. One is for departure from Canada; the other for your return. (And if the rules fluctuate and your carrier does not require you to have a test before boarding your plane out of Canada, then you have a test you can use on the ground during your camino).

I do not know how much they cost on the open market, but Air Canada passengers can buy them with aeroplan miles (which is what I did).

The tests are good in their unbroken packages for 9 months.

You can take the test and have a QR code sent back in 45 minutes after the health provider on the other end has observed you taking the test and receiving the results where you are. No appointments, no searching for a location to do the test, and no lag time to worry about.

I have a kit arriving for me for my April Norte…. And one will be a stocking stuffer for Dear Spouse, who has the cancelled CP finally rescheduled and ticketed for May. He departs on his camino a week after I return from mine.

We are assuming that things will continue on a positive trajectory from here, and we heard from our FP last week that our entire family will be eligible to have our Pfizer/Comirnity booster shots (those things I was told were conjecture and probably unnecessary) in December.

Things are looking up, and like some of the logistics are improving.

If you’re anxious about the testing or the booster issue (or both), take heart. And to my fellow residents in Canada, I heard today that there’s a 20% off Osprey sale at MEC.

Buen Camino a todos.

ty for the info as I am hoping to walk again in 2022. Buen Camino

 

[Former member 91017]

ty for the info as I am hoping to walk again in 2022. Buen Camino

More information and a little video, here: https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/...anadas-new-covid-19-self-testing-kits-4548055

And here's a user experience piece: https://princeoftravel.com/blog/my-experience-using-the-switch-health-rt-lamp-test-kit/

 

[HJPZ]

Osprey sale at Sail too!!

 

[Former member 91017]

Osprey sale at Sail too!!

Right?

 

[mla1]

Thanks for posting the info about the testing kits - I have not really been paying attention to what's needed....

 

[Former member 91017]

Thanks for posting the info about the testing kits - I have not really been paying attention to what's needed....

Hold on to your hats!
Canada Fed Public Health Agency (PHAC) returning to requiring PCR tests to re-enter. If you both a LAMP test do not ditch it though! Who knows what the rules will be when you go, and the regular RATs do not have the certification that the SWITCH health kits provide.

 

[Rick M]

For those who, like I do, spend a few days in Paris before catching the flight home, you can do the take-with-you test, or just get tested at a pharmacy in Paris. I was worried about timing, appointments, cost, French healthcare portals, etc, until I asked at the hotel. The concierge wearily pulled a map out from a pile, showing me the hours and the direct route on foot to get to a pharmacy. Tourists can walk into some (but not all) pharmacies and pay for a PCR test without any appointment. Connie and I walked in, showed the map to the pharmacist, and were both tested in 15 minutes on a Saturday morning. Total cost 84 euros.....for BOTH of us. We had the results via a texted link in five hours. Warning, the pharmacies are closed on Sundays. This was in November of this year. All the hotels know where to send you, they get asked this question every day.