Barrie, Ont.’s COVID-19 assessment centre, which is operated through the Royal Victoria Regional Centre (RVH), is transitioning from drive-thru testing to indoor appointments.
The facility on Sperling Drive will also serve as a cold and flu clinic, where patients with moderate symptoms common to COVID-19, the flu or a cold will be assessed by a doctor.
“RVH is testing more than 400 patients each day,” RVH’s operations director for the emergency department, intensive care unit and COVID-19 clinics, Stella Johnson, said in a statement. “As demand continues to grow, this new technology makes our testing process easier and quicker for our staff, as well as provide(s) more reliable results online for patients.”
If required, RVH will continue to accommodate some patients for drive-thru coronavirus testing.
To improve the testing process, RVH says it’s launched a new technology that allows staff to use a handheld device to scan people’s health card or driver’s licence.
The COVID-19, cold and flu clinic in Barrie operates daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Appointments are required.