Confusion, frustration as walk-in COVID-19 tests continue despite province's vow

There was confusion among both doctors and the public Sunday as walk-in COVID-19 tests were supposed to have ended provincewide but were still available at one Ottawa test site.

On Friday, the Ontario government announced it was transitioning to an online booking system on Tuesday, and walk-ins would be discontinued Saturday so assessment centres could "reset, deep clean and ensure preparedness" before the new model came into effect.

But on Sunday, some people in Ottawa were still able to get tests without a previously scheduledappointment.

"I was a bit confused when I went online. I did try to make an appointment and it wasn't working so I drove over and it was really quick," said Joanne Proulx, who was tested Sunday at the Brewer Arena site.

Proulx said she was in and out within 40 minutes, a far cry from the hours-long wait-timessome Ottawanshave endured in recent weeks.

Her family was turned away, she said,becausethey weren't considered high priority.

CBC Ottawa contacted Ottawa Public Health, The Ottawa Hospital, CHEOthe children's hospital serving eastern Ontarioand the Ontario Ministry of Health on the weekend about what the province's guidelines meant for those who needed a COVID-19 test Sunday and Monday, and what types of tests would be available.

The Ottawa Hospital directedquestions about its Brewer Arena assessment centre to theministry, which did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement, CHEO said its own assessment centre at Brewerremained open Sunday because it has an online booking system. Ottawa Public Health said Sunday morning the existing guidelines around the Brewer Arenasite remained in effect,including at the walk-in centre.

On Sunday evening, theOttawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce a group that involves members of those various agencies and coordinates COVID-19 testing efforts across the city announced the hospital's Brewer sitewould in fact be closed Monday, as would the care clinics on Moodie Drive and Heron Road.

CHEO's site would stay open Monday, as would the drive-thru site at RCGT Park. Both would be by appointment only, the task force said.

'Everybody is confused'

The unclearmessaging from the province and local health officials is sowing confusion and frustration, said Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a family physician in Ottawa.

"People don't know where to go. They don't know what to do, and so my patients are confused," she said. "I think everybody is confused, and physicians are confused because the advice is so conflicting."

Kaplan-Myrth she had symptomatic patients late last week who should have been told a walk-in test was still possible on the weekend.

While it's inappropriate for sick people to wait hours in lines, Kaplan-Myrth said she's concerned that those lineups will still exist whenthe booking system goes online and people just won't notice them.

"Public pressure came from seeing those lineups," she said.

"So when my patients say to me, 'Dr. Kaplan-Myrth, I can't get an appointment to be tested,' there's no public eye on that we've taken away the physical evidence of those long lines and made it a race to see who can get an appointment booked online."