City and health partners working to expand testing capacity

A nurse holds a vial containing a patients test swab during a demonstrates of the drive-thru Covid-19 testing centre at the National Arts Centre Wednesday November 18, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Ottawa's medical officer of health says the city’s public health unit is working to expand testing capacity amid a surge of demand with the arrival of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce announced a pause on drop-in tests at the city's assessment centres to ensure there is capacity for essential workers who need urgent COVID-19 tests. While many members of the public are unable to book COVID-19 tests at the moment, the taskforce says they still processed nearly 3,700 swabs at local assessment centres on Tuesday.

Dr. Vera Etches told a news conference on Wednesday that all levels of government are working to expand capacity in the city.

"There's been a lot of frustration around access to testing in Ottawa lately," Etches said. "It is something the provincial and federal governments are working on, to grow that supply of rapid antigen tests and we think that's coming in the new year."

She also said Ontario Health is looking at brining in third-party providers, such as non-hospital health-care companies to boost capacity for PCR tests.

But she also said that the vaccination effort is being prioritized at the moment. Some testing staff were pulled, causing a few sites to close, in order to supplement the staff needed to administer COVID-19 vaccine boosters.

"The vaccination is what will save lives," she said. "If we had to choose between a test and a vaccine, in an older adult, we want that older adult to have the vaccine. For testing—we do want people to know if it's COVID-19 or not, but it doesn't take a test to take protective action… like isolating when we're sick."

Mayor Jim Watson told reporters Wednesday that he's been in contact with the province to demand more rapid test kits for Ottawa.

"Last week, on a call with elected officials that included MPPs from Ottawa, I raised the need for faster deployment of rapid tests in Ottawa and increased capacity," he said.

Residents lined up at the Minto Barrhaven Recreation Complex Tuesday and Wednesday morning for a chance to receive a free rapid test kit, as provided by the province. The tests were delayed each day, leading to long waits in the cold. This is currently the only site that is providing the free tests in Ottawa as part of the provincial blitz, though more sites are expected to be announced.

Watson said the long lines shouldn't be happening.

"Ottawa residents shouldn’t have to line up at four in the morning to collect a rapid test. I’m again asking the province to prioritize Ontario’s second-largest city to receive additional rapid tests as soon as possible."