Free COVID-19 Rapid Tests May Be Coming To A LCBO Near You Pretty Soon

Are you one of the many people who find themselves hitting up the LCBO every Friday night? Well, good news! You'll soon be able to pick up a free COVID-19 rapid test alongside your weekend booze supply.

According to the Ontario government, the initiative is part of a new enhanced testing strategy that aims to provide up to 2 million rapid tests free of charge at pop-up sites across the province.

The testing sites will be placed in high-traffic settings such as malls, retail locations, libraries, transit stations, holiday markets, and, you guessed it, liquor stores.

"Most sites will distribute free take-home rapid antigen test kits, subject to supply, and some will offer asymptomatic rapid antigen screening on-site," an excerpt from the government news release states.

"The government will also make take-home rapid tests available at select LCBO stores, starting with the busiest stores this week and with more stores being added in the coming days," it adds.

Information on the closest pop-up rapid tests sites to you can be found on the Government of Ontario website.

However, it's worth noting the chosen LCBOs have yet to be listed, so you might have to wait for it to update.

“Today’s announcement underlines our government’s ongoing priority to keep Ontarians safe while protecting our health care systems and communities from COVID-19 and its variants,” Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said in a statement.

“We are expanding our efforts to include workplace and mobile vaccine clinics with the support of our health care and corporate partners as well as public health units, to ensure that first, second and booster doses are easily and conveniently accessible across the province to all Ontarians," she added.