No referral needed for tests
Niagara Health imposes rules around new COVID-19 testing scheme to prevent virus spread
Within hours of Premier Doug Ford announcing Sunday that anyone in the province who wants a COVID-19 test can get one without an appointment — and can bring their families — Niagara residents began showing up at local assessment centres.
Although Niagara Health changed its testing policies Monday in keeping with new provincial government directives, it is imposing rules around testing to prevent further spread of the potentially deadly COVID-19 virus.
The hospital system — which runs two testing centres, at the St. Catharines and Niagara Falls hospitals — is asking residents to call ahead to make appointments. Walk-ins are possible, but those people will have to wait in their cars in a hospital parking lot while their requests are processed.
Meanwhile, Niagara’s medical officer of health says calling the public health hotline remains a good idea to ensure those who need a test get where they need to be.
“Most people calling in now are people who have mild symptoms — the kind of symptoms they might not otherwise think twice about in other circumstances,” said Dr. Mustafa Hirji.
“We have had situations where people call us and have really serious symptoms. These are people who actually should not be going to a testing centre, but immediately to an emergency room.”
On Sunday, Ford echoed what
many public health officials, including Hirji, have been saying for weeks — that Ontario has built up its COVID-19 testing capacity well beyond what it was when the pandemic began. To take advantage of that and find as many cases as possible, people with even a single mild symptom of COVID-19 are urged to come forward to get tested.
Ford’s new testing directives effectively mean anyone who wants a test can get one. Even if someone shows no symptoms but are concerned they have been exposed, they can get a test.
Previous rules requiring a referral from a doctor or public health unit have been abandoned in a bid to get more people tested for the virus.
Although tests are being done by some family doctors and clinics, the majority are carried out by Niagara Health.
In response to Ford’s announcement, the hospital system said people who want a test should phone 905-378-4647, ext. 42819 (4-CV19). The caller will be given an appointment and instructions for a test.
Those who want to walk in will not be allowed to walk into the hospitals or the testing centre buildings. They will be directed to park their cars and will have to call the number. They will be registered for a test, and be asked to wait until called upon.
Those who are eligible will be directed to the drive-thru testing site in St. Catharines.
Hirji said crowd control will be essential at testing centres now that the requirement for referral has been lifted.
He said if 50 people showed up and crowded into a testing centre, it’s likely only a few will have the virus. But without strict protocols to keep people apart, a testing centre could become an outbreak zone.
“So instead of one or two infected people, all 50 people would be infected,” said Hirji, who noted those who work in and operate testing centres were alarmed by Ford’s announcement Sunday since it did not come with any rules around infection control.
He also said anyone concerned they might have COVID-19 should self-isolate and call for an appointment to ensure they do not become a source for the virus to spread.
Hirji said new waves of tests might find currently undetected cases, but he is not expecting a sudden spike in the numbers. Locally there appears to be only a “trickle” of community spread and few new longterm care cases have emerged in recent weeks.
Two new cases were confirmed Monday, while the number of active cases dropped for the fifth day in a row. There has been a total of 631 cases. At least 59 people have died in Niagara.