Despite Covid, I managed to get some travelling in this year, and in fact, went on two trips in…read moreSeptember: the first one was to Toronto with my husband, to attend a friend's wedding, and the second one was to Louisville, KY, with my sister, to attend a concert. Due to the timing of the wedding in Toronto and the concert in Louisville, it didn't make any sense for me to fly back to Vancouver, so the plan was to fly directly from Toronto to Kentucky (while my husband flew back to Vancouver). However, because I was flying into the US, I had to get a Covid test.
Thankfully testing requirements* to enter the US are much easier (and cheaper) than the requirements to enter Canada: you must have a negative Covid test (rapid negative antigen tests are acceptable) within three days of entering the US (as opposed to a PCR test within 72 hours of entering Canada). However, I had no idea where to get such a test in Toronto (or Vancouver, for that matter), so I turned to Yelp and was told that I could get tested at Shoppers Drug Mart for $40, an option not available in Vancouver. (Rapid antigen testing in Vancouver is $100+ and not quick or convenient to obtain.)
I was flying out to Kentucky on September 7th and with my itinerary (Niagara Falls on the 4th, wedding on the 6th), and the three day timeframe, I wanted to book an appointment on September 5th. From Vancouver, I called the Shoppers Drug Mart closest to my hotel that offered rapid antigen testing and was told that they were all booked up until well after my travel date, and that I need to book an appointment at least a week in advance. As this was August 31st, I was worried. Thankfully the 279 Yonge Street location, which was the second closest Shoppers Drug Mart to my hotel, at a 20 minute walk, had an appointment available on September 5th.
My husband and I arrived in Toronto the evening of September 2nd, and shortly after I arrived at our hotel, I received a phone call from Shoppers Drug Mart. Unfortunately they had to re-book my appointment due to a staffing shortage. I wasn't thrilled, but at least they called as soon as they realized they couldn't accommodate my appointment and re-booked me for the morning of September 6th.
Despite the rescheduling, everything worked out in the end. My appointment went smoothly, and the results were ready within 15 minutes. Also, since my flight to Kentucky on September 7th was cancelled due to bad weather in Chicago and I didn't fly out until September 8th, I guess it was just as well that my Covid test was also postponed by a day. Covid testing for travel is a huge hassle (stay tuned for my experience trying to fly back into Canada), but at least it was easy at the Shopper Drug Mart at 279 Yonge Street.
*Covid testing requirements and other Covid-related regulations are changing all the time, and the requirements mentioned in this post were accurate as of September 2021.
[Yelp collections: Toronto/Niagara Falls 2021; Medical Services; COVID-19]