Hundreds line up for COVID-19 rapid tests at Bayshore mall
Hundreds of people lined up at Bayshore Shopping Centre on Wednesday morning for COVID-19 rapid tests. (Jim O'Grady/CTV News Ottawa)
Another morning, another long lineup for rapid COVID-19 tests in Ottawa.
Hundreds of people lined up at Bayshore Shopping Centre early Wednesday for a chance to pick up rapid tests at a pop-up run by the provincial government.
The handout was scheduled to start at 7 a.m. By 6:30, the line already stretched around the mall and into the parking lot, according to people posting on social media.
Rapid antigen tests have been in high demand since before the holidays as Omicronspreads. And with new limits on PCR testing in Ontario, the RATs are the only tests most people can take.
The Ontario government has been handing out rapid antigen tests at pop-up sites across the province.
The handout has been fraught with issues.
Over the weekend at Billings Bridge mall, a planned handout started several hours earlier than scheduled, causing many people who arrived at the posted time to leave empty-handed.
The first provincial pop-up in Barrhaven last month saw people line up as early as 4 a.m., only to be given bracelets and told to return later in the day when the tests arrived.
Many others went away empty-handed.
There are three more rapid test handouts scheduled this week in Ottawa: Thursday at 7 a.m. at Bayshore, Friday at 9 a.m. at Hazeldean Mall and Friday at 10 a.m. at the Rideau Centre.
There is a limit of one test kit per person. People who have symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been exposed to a COVID-19 positive person are asked not to visit.
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