National HIV Testing Day took place on Sunday.
Simon Rayek with Health Initiative for Men talks about the importance of getting tested.
"The longer you have it without treatment the more complications that can arise from it, the harder it can be to reach that undetectable level where you don't transmit it to other people. As well it is important to treat it quickly because we know that the virus is most infectious or most contagious toward the beginning of an infection."
Rayek says fewer people were getting tested during the pandemic as services were disrupted. "As well as, of course, the stigma that a lot of us experience continuing to have sexual relationships during a pandemic, that often ignore the needs of people... public policy that ignore the needs of people who aren't part of a nuclear family."
He says you should be getting tested every three months if you're sexually active with multiple partners.
9,000 people in Canada are living with HIV and don't even know it.
Health Initiative for Men recently launched the 'More Than Sex' resource that aims to improve the sexual health and wellbeing for communities of the gay, bi, trans, two-spirit, queer men, and gender diverse people in BC.
Today is the final day of Pride Month.