Rapid testing comes to Sydney
SYDNEY — Jim and Sybil Ferrar haven't had any symptoms of COVID-19, but say they wanted to be on the safe side for the health of their community.
The Sydney couple hasn't travelled of the island or have been around anyone they believe has been sick, but that didn't stop them from taking advantage of rapid COVID-19 testing on Wednesday.
The Ferrar family was among local residents who were tested for COVID-19 at a pop-up clinic at St. Theresa's Parish hall in Sydney.
“When we heard that they were having tests today, it was a good chance for us to go,” said Jim Ferrar.
“The other day, I went to get bloodwork done and it was one of the things they asked me, if I had been tested with all the other questions, so I said I might as well give it shot and make sure that we're not asymptomatic.”
The Department of Health and Wellness have been setting up pop-clinic across the province, allowing for those who are asymptomatic to receive a COVID-19 test.
According to the province, asymptomatic means an individual does not feel sick or have symptoms, and they may or may not have the virus.
The purpose of rapid testing is to detect positive cases in people who do not have symptoms before the virus spreads widely.
Almost anyone can receive a test, but the province encourages anyone who has a lot of close interactions through social activities to get tested.
Sybil Ferrar said the testing
experience was straight forward and took about five minutes to complete.
“I was scared at the first, but it wasn't that bad,” she said. “It was quick and over with — they asked general questions like 'Were you outside of the province, were you in Halifax and if we travelled,' but we're fine.”
Mitch Hill, originally of Balls Creek, also decided to take the test Wednesday afternoon, given the fact he works in the retail business at teMayflower Mall.
“With Best Buy down the hall having been a potential exposure site, I know people are in the mall and they're usually in more than one spot, so I figured I'd get tested,” said Hill. “It was more for peace of mind than anything.”
Hill admits he's noticed himself catching regular flu strains more this year than normal, which was another reason for wanting to be tested.
“I don't tend to get sick a lot, and every time I've been ruled out for needing a COVID-19 test, even if I had been checked out,” said Hill.
“The sounds they were hearing in my chest were not lining up with COVID-19 symptoms, so they were ruling it out — I've been sick enough times so I wanted to grab a test.”
Like Ferrar, Hill said the test wasn't as bad as he expected.
“It was a bit uncomfortable for a bit, my eyes were watering, and I had to shut them,” he said, noting he spent approximately 15 minutes at the clinic.
“I counted to five and it was done, so I'm looking forward to getting a negative result back in a couple of hours.”
There were no lines at the Sydney clinic, however, Hill said it didn't matter to him.
“I would have been willing to wait in a line for an hour if I had to just to again rule it out,” he said. “They (officials) said testing had been pretty steady, but they didn't have line ups out the door.”
When asked his thoughts on the province's response to the pandemic, Jim Ferrar said he believes the provincial government is handling things well.
'More than some premiers' “I think their doing a good
job,” he said. “Our province is doing more than some premiers are doing.”
This month, nine cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the eastern zone, which includes Cape Breton Island, Antigonish and Guysborough counties. The exact location of the cases has not been announced.
Meanwhile, the province also issued a potential exposure advisory to Best Buy at Mayflower Mall earlier this month as well as a number of potential exposures on flights to J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport.
On Wednesday, four new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Nova Scotia. All cases are in the central zone, which includes the Halifax Regional Municipality. Three of the four cases are close contacts with previously reported cases, while one is under investigation.
As of publication time, the province had 55 active cases of COVID-19. In total, the Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 2,232 tests on Tuesday.
Rapid testing continues Thursday in Sydney. The tests will be conducted at St. Theresa's Parish hall, 285 St. Peter's Rd., from 1-8 p.m.
As for Sybil Ferrar, she encourages the community to take advantage of the rapid testing available to them.
“We have children who have to go to work and they've been around us, so we've encouraged them to get tested as well as the broader community,” said Ferrar.