Drive-thru coronavirus testing site planned for Ottawa’s RCGT Park

A new drive-thru coronavirus testing site is set to open soon in Ottawa’s east end.

The Champlain COVID-19 Response Committee (CCRC) said in a statement Tuesday that setup has begun for a new COVID-19 assessment centre in the parking lot of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton (RCGT) Park, located off Coventry Road near the Queensway.

Tests will be available only via drive thru and by appointment, with bookings opening up in the coming days on Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) website.

There will be no clinical assessment available at the site, with CCRC advising anyone experiencing symptoms to instead attend the Brewer Assessment Centre or one of the two care clinics on Moodie Drive or Heron Road.

The CCRC statement says “more options for mobile testing are being explored and will be implemented shortly.”

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Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King had previously pitched the unoccupied baseball stadium as a supplemental testing site for east-end residents who were struggling with travelling to the existing options.

News of an additional testing site comes as OPH added 16 coronavirus cases to Ottawa’s total on Tuesday.

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The city has now seen 2,855 cases of the virus since the pandemic began.

There were no changes in the number of virus-related deaths, people in hospital with COVID-19 and coronavirus outbreaks in Ottawa on Tuesday.

OPH did report that there are 166 active cases of the virus in the city, 10 more than the day before.