The drive-thru COVID-19 testing centre in Kitchener has closed for the day due to safety concerns, a Grand River Hospital (GRH) spokesperson confirmed to Global News.
“We finished testing the people who are waiting to be tested and have closed to new drive-ins and walk-ups at this time for today,” GRH’s Cheryl Evans told Global News Wednesday morning shortly after 9 a.m.
The first person had lined up for testing at 2:30 a.m. and the line grew from there, with the testing centre reaching capacity by the time it had opened at 7:30 a.m., Evans confirmed. Within an hour, the decision was made to pull the plug for the day.
She said that police were called in to help with a burgeoning traffic nightmare which had sprawled across the Belmont area of Kitchener.
“We had a serious traffic situation on all of the side streets, so Glasgow (Street) had a significant amount of cars backed up, as did Belmont and Park (streets),” Evans explained. “So we had to call in police to help us with the traffic issue and ensure the safety of all.”
There were also some unruly people who were causing issues as well.
“We had to protect our staff from some fairly aggressive behaviours and, you know, the safety of our staff and the residents who are being tested come first,” Evans said.
The clinic was initially intended to test about 350 people per day but over the past week, it has been testing between 550 and 650 people per day.
The hospital intends to take some time to look for ways to deal with the overwhelming demand.
“We’re going to take the day to take a look at our model to see what we can do to alleviate some of that strain in the morning and reopen tomorrow,” Evans said.
Once a decision is made on how testing will proceed, Evans says those who are in need of testing will be able to get information through GRH’s website or social media.
“Just be patient as we sit here, figure out this process, that would be helpful for everyone,” she said.