Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), First Nations and Inuit Health Branch- Manitoba (FNIHB-MB) is seeking a contractor to complete rapid COVID testing for their remote nursing stations.Rapid Tests machine, both Abbott ID Now and GeneXpert have been approved by Health Canada for use as a diagnostic test for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2, Flu A, Flu B and RSV.The Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 assay is an amplification technology intended for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) in direct nasal, nasopharyngeal or throat swabs from individuals who are suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider.The Northern, Remote and Isolated communities face additional barriers to timely test results due to transportation time required to deliver a specimen to a testing laboratory. Given the importance of accurately identifying new cases in Northern, Remote and Isolated communities to prevent spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the face of limited healthcare resources, RT-PCR testing is the recommended test for these settings.ISC’s plan is to organize teams of individuals that the successful contractor will provide to allow for deployment into Northern, Remote and Isolated communities for support in rapid testing to prevent and control backlog. All rapid testing and diagnostic work will be performed on site in community.It is intended to result in the award of one (1) contract for one (1) year, plus one (1) one-year irrevocable options allowing Canada to extend the term of the contract.
