Expect to wait longer to book a COVID-19 test, Ontario's top doctor warns as Omicron surges
CBC
Ontario's chief medical officer of health is warning that demand is growing for COVID-19 tests as daily case counts surge due to the Omicron variant.
"Increasing demand is making it more challenging to access timely testing. Individuals seeking test appointments may experience longer wait times in some areas of the province," Dr. Kieran Moore told reporters on Tuesday.
Moore said at a Queen's Park news briefing that the province may use rapid antigen tests (RAT) to diagnose COVID-19 cases if public health units experience shortages of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Ottawa Public Health reported on Monday that it has limited access to PCR tests because of a growth in cases involving the Omicron variant.
The approach to COVID-19 testing should be consistent across the province and the government will review over the next two days which public health units have shortages of PCR tests, Moore added.
"We're working on that," Moore said.
"I do agree that we need a consistent approach to both the testing and the advice to the public and that we have to anticipate that, as this virus continues to double every few days, which is what it wants to do, that we may have to put some limitations on the PCR and to be able to use RAT for diagnostic purposes if we don't have complete PCR."
PCR tests are needed to manage COVID-19 outbreaks, he said.
The Ontario government advises anyone who has received a positive result on a rapid antigen test to self-isolate and book a PCR test through a lab to confirm the results.
In a tweet on Monday, Ottawa Public Health said, "COVID-19 testing sites are experiencing an unprecedented surge and cannot keep up with demand."
In a statement on Tuesday, the public health unit added, "The emergence of the Omicron variant has led to a large increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa.
"As a result, Ottawa Public Health is currently experiencing a backlog with its case and contact management system, resulting in delayed notifications to people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their high-risk contacts."
Peterborough Public Health, meanwhile, is advising people to report positive test results from rapid antigen tests to the public health unit to enable it to get a sense of the scope of variant.
Dr. Thomas Piggott, medical officer of health for Peterborough Public Health, said in a statement on Tuesday that the results from rapid antigen tests will not be included in daily case counts.
"Peterborough Public Health is asking residents to submit the results of their rapid antigen tests for surveillance purposes. These self-reported results will not be considered as case data," Piggott said.
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