Some Canadian Travellers are Able to Book Free PCR Tests in the U.S.

Returning travellers by both land and air to Canada currently need to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test as part of their re-entry requirements, which can cost upwards of $150 per test, but some New Brunswick travellers are finding Canadians are eligible for free PCR tests at many locations in the United States. Saint Andrews resident Katy MacDonald was expecting to pay at least $100 US for a PCR test before her return from a week-long trip to Washington, but she was surprised to discover that the PCR test she received at a mobile testing site called Curative was fully covered the US government.

"We booked and appointment, went to the site, did a swab, and they didn't require an insurance number or anything and we had our results back within a day," said MacDonald. 

Some pharmacy chains such as Walgreens have been offering free PCR tests, and that includes to Canadians who book appointments via the pharmacy's website using the address of the place where they're staying in the United States. Keep in mind, you can only cross back into Canada with a negative test result taken within the last 72 hours, which can be the tricky part, depending on when you receive your results, and could lead to unforseen travel delays if you need to be re-tested. It also means same-day over-and-back trips are still not feasible for most travellers.
 
New Brunswick students headed back to school on Monday after two weeks of online learning as striking public sector workers went back to work after over two weeks on the picket lines. A tentative agreement settlement between the province and over 20,000 CUPE workers is being voted on this week.