Rapid Antigen Testing Available for The Canadian Shield Employees

The Canadian Shield is proud to have implemented an on-site rapid COVID-19 testing program as part of the local ChamberCheck initiative in Waterloo Region.

Throughout our exceptional growth over the past year, The Canadian Shield, like many other businesses, have had to drastically adapt our operating protocols in order to ensure the safety of employees. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, this meant moving to remote work for many companies. For us, and many other manufacturing companies and businesses with frontline essential workers, working from home was not an option for the majority of employees.

During a time when most businesses were scaling down their operations, we were ramping up production capacity rapidly. This meant we had to quickly implement a variety of safety measures. These new practices included designing an employee sign-in and sign-out process, temperature logging, and various PPE protocols, as well as physical distancing boundaries in common areas and cafeterias. To this day, these measures continue to serve our team well and keep everyone safe.

With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in Ontario, and vaccines potentially still months away, The Canadian Shield has decided to implement additional measures to keep our team safe. Thanks to the local Chamber Check initiative, organized by the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and Communitech, The Canadian Shield is now able to provide our manufacturing staff with on-site rapid testing kits.

For manufacturing employees like ours, rapid testing kits help create a sense of security and an additional line of defense in the fight against COVID-19. For any businesses with frontline workers, the 15-minute rapid tests quickly allow employees and employers to identify a possible COVID-19 case before it has the chance to spread in the workplace.

Through the Chamber Check program, businesses who perform rapid antigen testing are required to report all test results through the organization’s online portal. All positive results uncovered from the rapid antigen tests are required to make arrangements with their local public health unit to have a PCR test performed.

With rapid testing kits now available in many areas, our team believes they will become a crucial part of preventing community spread and helping us return to some sense of normalcy. For other businesses located in Waterloo Region, we highly recommend visiting the Chamber Check website for more information on how to access rapid testing kits for your company.