Ottawa getting east-end COVID-19 testing site in October: Mayor Watson

East-end Ottawa residents will receive a long-awaited coronavirus testing centre in Orléans sometime next month, Mayor Jim Watson announced Monday.

Watson said on Twitter that l’Hôpital Montfort, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) and other community partners will open a COVID-19 testing site at the Ray Friel Community Centre in Orléans.

He said that the site is expected to open in October and that details would follow on specific service hours.

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Separate entrances and exits to the testing centre will allow park and recreational programming at the community centre to continue, he added.

Elected officials have long petitioned for an accessible site for east-end residents.

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OPH’s COVID-19 mapping tool indicates that wards in Ottawa East show disproportionately high rates of infection.

A drive-thru testing site on Coventry Road opened a few weeks ago, but it faced criticisms for being too limited as only residents with vehicles could access the centre.

Ottawa’s other coronavirus testing centres continue to face long lineups and insufficient capacity to address testing demands.

Urban councillors have also called for a downtown testing centre for residents who can’t access sites in the south, east or west end.

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