I'll begin at the testing section and talk about testing.
As the vaccine rollout continues, it's important that we continue to test and contact trace, support people who have been infected with COVID-19, and isolate in order to contain the spread of the virus as we do that important work. The government has been working with partners in industry and in the not-for-profit sector to increase screening and testing capacity across the country.
As of April 8, 2021, more than 25 million rapid tests had been shipped to the provinces and territories. When combined with the federal allocation, over 41 million rapid tests have been distributed across the country. We've supported the provinces and territories, along with the private sector, to ensure that rapid testing can help identify the spread of COVID-19 in essential workplaces and in congregate living settings. In fact, in pandemic spending, eight dollars out of every $10 spent on our national response have come from the federal government.
Recently, the Province of Alberta announced that more than two million rapid tests will be available for businesses in Alberta, and this is an expansion of a program that has already successfully rolled out more than 1.2 million rapid tests to long-term care facilities, schools, hospitals and homeless shelters. In this next phase of Alberta's program, test kits will be provided to employers and service providers, with priority given to organizations that work with vulnerable people. This will give employees a sense of security and comfort when they go home to their families at night after working with the public all day.
There's no silver bullet to fighting COVID-19, but adequate rapid testing and appropriate contact tracing and isolation are layers of protection to keep essential workers safe as they stay on the front lines for all of us. From border measures to mandatory quarantines to digital tools to the establishment and funding of safe isolation sites, the Government of Canada has been working with the provinces and territories every day to keep Canadians safe. We're going to continue to use all the tools at our disposal to help the country through the pandemic. We will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to protect Canadians.
I would like to conclude with a few words about the report recently published by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
As you know, it raises issues concerning the Public Health Agency of Canada's response to the emergence of COVID-19. We have accepted every recommendation from this audit, and work is under way to respond to these recommendations. We have to keep the health and safety of Canadians our top priority across government.
That's why the Government of Canada has provided significant funding and resources. As I said, eight dollars out of every $10 in the pandemic response has come from the federal government. This includes, recently, $690.7 million in the fall 2020 economic statement to strengthen the Public Health Agency of Canada's response and surge capacity.
The agency has grown tremendously. It has expanded by more than 1,000 new employees to bolster our capacity to have more people able to support and protect Canadians across a number of areas. The agency continues to grow to support our response to COVID-19. In October, the agency implemented a national COVID-19 public health data portal to support data collection, sharing and management, something we know that we need to get better at all across the country. Also, I've asked for an independent review of Canada's global public health surveillance system, commonly referred to as GPHIN, and a final report and recommendations are expected later this spring. These measures will help us improve Canada's pandemic preparedness and response capacity.
There have been financial supports for Canadians through the CERB and the CRB, wage supports for businesses through the CEWS, and wage top-ups for health care workers. Through my portfolio, there have also been things like safe isolation sites for communities; Canadian Red Cross personnel, field epidemiologists and other experts; contact tracers; and mental health supports that are free and directly deliverable to Canadians through Wellness Together Canada. This is along with $19 billion through the safe restart agreement; supplies and resources, fully paid, for the provinces and territories to test, track and treat COVID cases; treatments for COVID-19; and millions upon millions of vaccines. Every step of the way we have stopped at nothing to support the provinces and territories to deliver on their responsibility to provide health care to Canadians in their jurisdictions.
As we see this third wave threaten so many lives, we know we have to keep working together, with all hands on deck. This is a team Canada moment. We have to keep working together and working with our partners, because Canadians want us to do that. They need us to do that. They need us to continue to be collaborative and to look for ways to help. They want us to know that they need us to work together and that we are going to get through this together.
To my colleagues here today, I hope that you will use your platforms, your ability to communicate as leaders in your communities, to encourage Canadians to get tested, to stay home when they're sick, to wear face masks, to isolate when they're close contacts, to restrict their movements and indeed to get vaccinated when it's their turn. It's very important that we are all speaking from the same page on this.
Thank you very much. I look forward to your questions.