162 City of Regina employees choose to pay for COVID-19 tests rather than get vaccinated

The City of Regina says 162 of its unvaccinatedemployees have decided to pay for COVID-19 tests out of their own pocket, rather than get vaccinated.

For a six-week period from October to mid-November, the city was paying to test its unvaccinated employees.

According to city administration, 403 employees were being tested at the start of the period.

Only 162 were continuing to be tested by the end.

That means 241 employees, or 60 per cent of those who were unvaccinated at the start of October, chose to get vaccinated or left their jobs.

Theemployees who remain unvaccinated are now expected to pay for the tests out of their own pocket and submit them weekly.

The citysays it covered the cost of 1,207 tests during the six-week period.There's no indication on how much the tests cost,but the public will get to know soon.

In a statement, cityadministration saidit intends to prepare a "comprehensive COVID-response update report, to be presented at an upcoming council meeting."

It is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2022.

Of the approximately 2,500 city employees,92 per cent are now fully vaccinated, administration told CBC News.

The data does not include members of the Regina Police Service, which handles its own testing and vaccination procedures.