We can’t just be testing people with symptoms. We have to start going to the broader public. … I’ll be like an 800-pound gorilla on their backs, every single day if I have to, until I see these numbers go up.
PREMIER DOUG FORD, on COVID-19 testing.
More than two months into pandemic response, testing for coronavirus is still not meeting the thresholds set by government leaders.
Testing in Ontario remains well below the daily goal of administering at least 20,000 COVID-19 tests. On Thursday, the province reported only 10,506 tests had been completed the previous day.
Premier Doug Ford is pushing health officials “as hard as I can” to ramp up COVID-19 testing and said he wants to see truckers, taxi drivers, automotive sector and food-processing workers tested.
“We can’t just be testing people with symptoms. We have to start going to the broader public and start testing as many people as possible, asymptomatic people,” said Ford. “I’ll be like an 800-pound gorilla on their backs, every single day if I have to, until I see these numbers go up.”
Ford also wants all long-term care residents and staff retested.
Provincial leaders have suggested a number of reasons for the shortfall in recent weeks, including lagging effort on the part
of some medical officers of health across the province and logistical issues sending the tests to labs.
Ford also said he and provincial health officials have been tracking a recent rise in new cases, even as testing levels have remained relatively low.
“It’s concerning, but I’m going to rely on medical advice,” said Ford, when asked what it would take to slow the reopening of the province or to potentially reintroduce some restrictions.
The federal government could soon be lending a hand to jurisdictions across the country to boost testing and contact-tracing capacity. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he’s extended this offer to the premiers, and “we got positive responses from right across the country.”
While federal, Ontario and local health officials are now collectively recommending the public wear face coverings when physical distancing isn’t possible, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has also warned against judging those who can’t wear them.
“Don’t assume that someone who isn’t wearing a mask or is wearing something different doesn’t have an actual reason for it.”
Mask use can be problematic or even dangerous for many, including some people with asthma or severe allergies, autism or hearing impairments.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Forces says 28 military members have tested positive for COVID-19 after being deployed to help at longterm care facilities in Ontario and Quebec. That’s a dramatic increase from the five cases announced last week.
In Ottawa, the public health agency is collecting more information, including race, from COVID-19 patients, the health unit confirmed Thursday.
Currently, OPH provides breakdowns of local COVID -19 patients by age range, gender, the ward in which they reside, and those identified as health-care workers or first responders.
Advocacy groups have pushed for the collection of race-based COVID -19 data in Canada, and it’s something certain public health units and provinces, including Ontario, say they have started doing. In the U.S., researchers found black communities are disproportionately affected by the virus.
OPH says the data will be shared publicly “at a later date.” tblewett@postmedia.com