Major COVID-19 testing sites in Ottawa closed ahead of new appointment-based system

Three of Ottawa’s primary coronavirus assessment centres are closed Monday following a wave of confusion over the weekend as to which sites were offering walk-in testing amid a provincial shift to an appointment-based system.

The Brewer Assessment Centre and the care clinics at Moodie Drive and Heron Road are all closed for testing on Monday.

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s testing at Brewer Arena remains open, however, to those with appointments from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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The Coventry Road drive-thru testing site is also open, again on an appointment-only basis, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Testing is also available via appointment at some pharmacies in Ottawa for asymptomatic residents.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Friday that walk-in testing at centres across the province would be closed on Sunday and Monday in preparation for a new, appointment-only booking system set to start on Tuesday.

But while the provincial directive indicated Ottawa’s Brewer testing site would be closed on Sunday, Global News found the site was still offering tests to people walking in from the street.

In a statement on Sunday, Ottawa Public Health wouldn’t explain why walk-in testing was still running at the Brewer Assessment Centre, noting it was run by the Ottawa Hospital, and deferring any additional questions to the province. When asked, the Ottawa Hospital directed a request for comment to Ontario Health.

Asked why walk-in testing was still available at Brewer Arena, Ontario Health told Global News in a statement that sites have been asked to discontinue walk-in testing and “should be doing so soon, if they haven’t already.”

A statement Sunday evening from the Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce, which includes Ottawa Public Health, the Ottawa Hospital, as well as other hospitals and health-care partners, said appointment-based testing will be available “as soon as possible” but did not seem to confirm all sites in the city would be ready for Tuesday.

“All assessment centres are working to have their appointment-based testing online as soon as possible. Information on when centres are able to incorporate appointments will be forthcoming as soon as it becomes available,” the statement said.

— With files from Global News’ Abigail Bimman






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