Lack of COVID-19 testing facilities over long weekend leaves some Ottawans frustrated

It was a long, rainy wait in line down at the Brewer Arena COVID-19 assessment centreon Sunday, with some Ottawa residents feeling frustrated by the number of testing facilitiesclosed this holiday weekend.

The Brewer Arena was the only Ottawa testing facility open, despite the recent surge of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported by public health officials.

Linda Woods, who waited in line Sunday after driving from Orlans to get tested, believes the city needs more testing facilities, especially in the east end.

"They've been talking about this double-digit spike over the past week," she said.

"And yes, it was 17 [confirmed cases] yesterday. Maybe it's going to be 30 tomorrow. Who knows? And especially after a long weekend."

Third testing centre remains closed

Today both the Moodie Drive and the COVID-19 assessment centre at the Brewer Arena are open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The city's third testing centre, located on Heron Road, remains closed until Tuesday morning.

"If the world is not going to get tested because there are long lines, we will never have the right results," said Franois Lalonde, who also lives in Orlans.

Lalonde spoke to Radio-Canada in a French-language interview.

"Definitely, they should have opened several centres. We have a centre, [and] you see the lines we have today," he said.

"If things get worse and worse over the winter, we can't be standing out here in -10 C weather," Woods said. "So I think they really need to improve the setup."

Walk-in screening is offered in Gatineau, Que., from Monday to Wednesday, as well as on weekends.

The service also won't be offered today, according to Le Centre intgr de sant et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais.

Peter Cameron also waited in line at the Brewer Arena testing facility on Sunday.

While more tents may have sped up the lines and kept people dry, people should be patient with public health workers, he said.

"This is tricky stuff, and it's urgent," Cameron said. "And it's a pandemic. Let's not kid ourselves. It's dangerous."