Wait times vary for COVID-19 testing after arriving on P.E.I.
CBC News | Posted: July 5, 2021 11:00 PM | Last Updated: July 5, 2021
PEI Pass applications will become available to anyone in Canada on Tuesday
Lineups for rapid testing are the norm these days if you are coming into P.E.I., but who gets tested is expected to change as the province opens its borders beyond Atlantic Canada later this month.
Visitors coming to P.E.I. can expect to be greeted by COVID-19 testing staff. Depending on when you travel, it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to more than an hour.
Some travellers who arrived on the Island around Canada Day did face those longer waits, and some people were waived through when testing sites got too busy.
Don Christie had a shorter wait for a test Monday after arriving on P.E.I. by ferry.
"It's not a great annoyance, it just holds you up a bit but I think an abundance of caution is always a good thing," said Christie.
Northumberland Ferries said Health PEI is working on setting up onboard testing, but the province isn't releasing any specifics on that yet.
There appears to be interest in coming to P.E.I.
Government officials said as of Monday afternoon, more than 92,000 applications have been submitted for the PEI Pass, and more than 81,000 have been approved.
Once the province opens up to the rest of Canada, health officials said they will likely focus on testing people who do not have a PEI Pass and those coming from outside of Atlantic Canada.