May 7, 2020

Health Canada Alert: Unauthorized test kits diagnosing COVID-19

Health Canada is warning Canadians not to buy home diagnostic test kits, including mail-in sample collection kits, claiming to diagnose or detect COVID-19 because they may provide inaccurate or false results. These products have not been authorized by Health Canada, which means they have not been reviewed for safety, quality or effectiveness.

Health Canada has authorized COVID-19 test kits intended for use only by healthcare professionals or trained operators.

The Department continues to monitor websites for false claims and is working with online retailers to ensure that unauthorized COVID-19 diagnostic or detection test kits are removed from their websites.

Health Canada is also working with the RCMP to take action when unauthorized test kits are found to be sold in Canada, including a recent seizure of over 1500 test kits in B.C.

Selling or advertising health products that make false or misleading claims is illegal in Canada. The Department takes this issue seriously and will use all mechanisms and tools at its disposal to stop these activities.