Ottawa looks to create more COVID-19 testing sites

Ottawa is getting more COVID-19 testing sites and people will soon be abletobook swabbing appointments ahead of time,the city's top public health official says.

There are currently three regular locations where residents can get tested for COVID-19 in Ottawa:the assessment centre at Brewer Park Arenaand the two care clinics on Moodie Drive andHeron Road, which provide testing as well as medical services,

For Inuit in Ottawa, the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team can also provide COVID-19 assessment and testing.

The existing locations have been unable to meet the need for COVID-19 tests,said Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health, during a teleconference on Thursday.

"They are adding capacity, absolutely. They just aren't keeping up because the demand keeps growing," she said.

On three days this week, the testing centres swabbed more than 1,000 people including one day when 1,278 tests were conducted, according to Ottawa Public Health data.

Some people have waited as long as four hours for tests, according to The Ottawa Hospital, one of the local hospitals that runs the testing centres.

Etches expects the demand for COVID-19 testing will only grow when students return to classrooms in the fall.

"We do need testing capacity for students and youth and teachers and workers when there's a case identified in a school," she said.

Plans to adapt to more demand

The Ottawa Hospital said in a written statement there are plans to expand the number of COVID-19 tests Ottawa is capable of administering in the coming weeks.

"Together with Ottawa Public Health and Ontario Health, the focus of the region is to expand our capacity as quickly as possible to support the increased demand," said the statement.

"Through increased staffing, hours of operation and planning for additional sites, the region continues to adjust the operation to accommodate the increasing demand."

Officials did not say Thursday where the sites would go.

Etches said the objective is to make COVID-19 testing along-term service in the city, and that means hiring dedicated staff.

Sheexpectedmore testing centres will be created and the system will move to an appointment-based model rather than simply a walk-in model.

"It's a whole transition to a sustainable testing strategy," she said.

Ottawa Public Health still urges anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 or who may have been in contact with a likely or positive case to get tested.

Tests should not, however, be used as permission slips to socialize more, Etches said.

It often takes days for a test to detect COVID-19, and even if people wait the necessary five days after a potential exposure, it's still possible to get infected in the intervening days before the test.

"A negative doesn't give a guarantee," Etches said. "Getting tested for COVID-19 is not a free pass to let your guard down."