Local frustration grows around high costs of COVID-19 tests to cross border
With so many residents unable to cross into Detroit because of the ongoing Canadian federal government requirement to produce a negative COVID-19 test result — at an extreme cost of up to US$300 — a new company in Windsor has started offering cheaper and quicker PCR testing.
Assure Clinics has partnered with three pharmacies in the Detroit area — one off Jefferson Avenue near the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, another in Mexicantown by the Ambassador Bridge and a third near Detroit Metro Airport.
The company was formed admittedly because so many Windsorites have been left exasperated due to the inaccessibility and unaffordability of PCR testing which they must undergo in order to produce timely negative virus test results to Canada Border Service Agency officers upon their return.
Going through the new local company, tests can be scheduled as low as $75 for results that can be returned in no more than 12 hours. For rapid testing and results in 15 to 30 minutes, the cost goes up to US$150.