Red Cross helps provincial fire rangers keep COVID-19 at bay with rapid testing
The Red Cross is running a new program aimed at protecting forest fire rangers throughout northern Ontario from COVID-19 this summer.
It involves offering COVID-19 rapid tests to firefighters at 18 different sites so they can do their jobs knowing they are not at risk of spreading the virus among their colleagues.
At the request of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Red Cross is conducting COVID-19 rapid tests on consenting fire rangers. The initiative launched two weeks ago.
“Fire teams are ... on aircrafts; they’re in vehicles together; they’re also sharing communal base camps, so social distancing can be challenging at times," said Tyler Beaton, an operations manager of the testing location at Cochrane Fire Management Headquarters in Cochrane.
Beaton said the Red Cross has the potential to test people at least twice a week. Results come in about 15 minutes and then the MNRF employees are on their way.
"Each (Red Cross) team has the capacity to do approximately 70 to 80 tests per day," said Beaton.
To date, 750 tests have been conducted.
A media relations specialist with the MNRF told CTV News that most of the forest fire activity is happening west of Thunder Bay, with 69 active fires as of July 8.
Isabelle Chenard said six are being held in the northeast, including four in the Cochrane area, and the others in the Kirkland Lake and Wawa districts.
She said so far this year, Ontario has had 541 forest fires, well above the 10-year average.
“For this year, to date, we have over 112,000 hectares burnt and if you look at the 10-year average (it's) 120,000 hectares," Chenard said.
With all that activity, the hope is the rapid testing might catch asymptotic COVID-19 cases to prevent potential outbreaks that would make it difficult for the province to replace its skilled employees.
The province hires around 750 fire rangers every summer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.