A number of local pharmacies in Ontario will start offering coronavirus tests to at-risk, asymptomatic people on Friday.
Sixty locations across the province have been selected, however, Hamilton does not have one of them.
The Ford government has promised there will be pharmacies in the city to offer a COVID-19 test as part of a plan to increase daily testing capacity.
One Central Mountain pharmacy owner is hoping his location will be chosen to offer the service.
“In terms of the way we’ve built our pharmacy and the way we’re set up, I feel my pharmacists can deliver COVID testing with no added risk to any patient that is either coming in for the test or that is a regular patient,” said Phil Hauser of Hauser’s Pharmacy & Home Healthcare.
Hauser says his location is already preparing for a higher-than-normal demand for the flu shot this season and figures adding COVID-19 testing to the store would be appropriate.
“We’ve already been on the front lines of the pandemic for the last six months and the opportunity to participate and alleviate some of the bottlenecks for patients is gonna be beneficial for the city of Hamilton,” Hauser said.
Toronto, Ottawa, Brampton, Mississauga, Markham and Huntsville are the first municipalities that will see pharmacies offer free testing by appointment only.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health told Global News that although a number of pharmacies have indicated they would be ready to provide testing, the outlets must meet minimum space standards set out by the province.
“Pharmacies must ensure that there is sufficient space that is dedicated to specimen collection,” the ministry said in a statement, “This space should be designed to minimize contact between the specimen collection area and the rest of the commercial area through the use of plexiglass barriers or other physical barriers/markers.”
The ministry went on to say that additional testing sites are being prioritized in regions of the province that are experiencing the greatest number of COVID-19 cases.
Hamilton reports 6 new COVID-19 cases
Hamilton public health reported six new COVID-19 cases on Sept. 24. Hamilton now has a total of 1,100 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
The city says 40 per cent of the city’s 65 new coronavirus cases in the last 10 days have been among people under the age of 30.
The city has 77 active cases as of Thursday.
-
![]()
Coronavirus: Ford addresses concern about COVID-19 testing capacities in southwestern Ontario -
![]()
Coronavirus: Ontario investing $1B to expand COVID-19 testing capacity, contact tracing, Ford says -
![]()
Coronavirus: Ontario COVID-19 testing investment will ‘significantly expand’ testing capacity, reduce wait times, Health Minister says -
![]()
Coronavirus: Liberals table Bill C2, the Canada Recovery Benefit
The city has no current institutional outbreaks.
Public health said it’s seen an average of eight cases per day over the past week.
Halton Region reports 16 new COVID-19 cases
Public Health Halton reported 16 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with eight of those recorded in Burlington.
The region has had 1,189 cases since the pandemic began. Public health says there are 148 active cases and 25 deaths tied to COVID-19 as of Sept. 24.
The region has no current institutional outbreaks.
The agency says 36.3 per cent (53) of its 146 cases in the last 10 days were among residents under the age of 19.
Niagara Region reports four new COVID-19 cases
Niagara public health reported four new COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
The region has reported 1,007 cases since the pandemic began. The region has 42 current active cases as of Sept. 24.
There are two current COVID-19 outbreaks at Pioneer Elder Care in St. Catharines and Deer Park Villa nursing home in Grimsby.
Since the pandemic began, 328 of the region’s 1,007 cases have occurred in people between the ages of 20 and 39.
Sixty-four people with COVID-19 have died in Niagara.
Haldimand-Norfolk reports no new COVID-19 cases
The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) reported no new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The region has an overall total of 489 lab-confirmed positive cases.
Officials say there are four active cases as of Sept. 24.
Public health says about one-third (33.1 per cent) of all cases in the region involve people between the ages of 20 and 39.
Thirty-two people have died as a result of COVID-19, with the bulk of the deaths (27) tied to residents at Anson Place Care Centre in Hagersville.
Brant County reports new COVID-19 case at Paris school
Brant County’s health unit says it recorded one new COVID-19 case on Thursday. The region has a total of 182 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
The region reported a coronavirus case at Cobblestone Elementary school in Paris on Thursday. The region has had four COVID-19 cases in schools including three in Brantford – Onondaga-Brant Public School, St. Pius X Catholic Elementary School, and Russell Reid Public School.
Public health says more than one-third (36.81 per cent) of all cases in the county involve people between the ages of 20 and 39.
Five people in the County have died due to COVID-19.
Comments