VANCOUVER -- Researchers at Simon Fraser University estimate that rapid testing for COVID-19 - if it had been available - could have prevented as many as half of the deaths from the disease in long-term care and assisted-living facilities in B.C. in 2020. The research - shared Friday by SafeCare BC, an industry association that advocates for care workers in the province - looked at two possible scenarios for using rapid tests in long-term care and modelled what the outcome of each scenario might be. The first scenario considered testing care home staff on a weekly basis, while the second one modelled testing of staff every three days.