The provincial government is moving to expand Ottawa’s coronavirus testing capacity as the city deals with long lineups at assessment centres and surging COVID-19 case counts.
Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod said in a tweet Thursday that the Ontario government is bringing three pop-up coronavirus testing sites to Ottawa amid a week of long lines and waits upwards of eight hours at some centres across the city.
Locations for the sites are still being determined, MacLeod said, but they should be ready for Friday.
The testing centre news came alongside an announcement that Ottawa-area hospitals would receive more than $10 million in cumulative funding from the Ontario government to repair roofs, elevators and HVAC systems over the next year.
Meanwhile, Ottawa Public Health reported 39 new coronavirus cases in the city on Thursday, the lowest daily increase so far in what’s been a week of surging case numbers.
There are now 420 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, while 3,486 people have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.
No new deaths linked to the virus were reported on Thursday, leaving the city’s death toll of the pandemic at 273.
Twelve people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ottawa, with one person in intensive care.
Fifteen schools in the area have now reported staff members or students testing positive for the virus, according to Ontario’s system tracking COVID-19 in schools across the province.
Nine of those schools are in the French-language Catholic board, while the French public board and the Ottawa Catholic District School Board are each reporting cases at three schools.
The hardest-hit school is the Franco-Ouest high school in Nepean, where three students have tested positive for the virus.
Outbreaks are only declared at Ottawa schools when two or more cases are linked.
Fellowes High School in nearby Pembroke, Ont., was shut down on Wednesday after officials say three staff members tested positive for the virus.
There are currently 21 coronavirus outbreaks in Ottawa institutions such as long-term care homes, daycares and other health-care settings, two more than the day before.
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