A new COVID-19 testing centre has just opened up in Kirkland, but what some people are doing after they get tested at the centre is raising eyebrows.
The clinic is located at the RioCan Centre, right next door to a Dollarama store.
Some who are leaving the centre after getting tested for COVID-19 are heading straight to the store, disregarding public health guidelines to self-isolate.
In the span of two hours, Global News saw two people going into the store after getting tested.
A man who wished to remain anonymous told Global News he had gotten tested for COVID-19 after he had been in contact with people who caught the disease.
But he didn’t know that he had to isolate while he waited for the results, so he went shopping instead.
Dollarama says they are monitoring the situation, adding that they have all protocols in place in order to prevent any infections.
“Dollarama also requires employees and expects customers to follow public health’s directives regarding hygiene and respiratory practices as well as self-isolation directives in the case of potential or actual exposure to COVID-19,” wrote Dollarama spokesperson Lyla Radmanovich in a statement.
“This particular message is promoted via signage at the entrance of our stores and is also part of the COVID-19 message that plays constantly on our PA systems.”
Fadi, a shopper who did not want to give his last name, was outraged to hear about the behaviour.
“They should be arrested. It’s just not right,” Fadi said.
“They should be responsible for what they’re doing, they shouldn’t be around people they should go home. There should be police presence in order to control the situation.”
The public health authority responsible for the area told Global News in a statement everyone who shows up at their testing clinics and answers to one of three criteria —which include having symptoms in the past 10 days, being identified by public health as a contact of someone infected or has been abroad — is given directives to self-isolate.
“This instruction is given verbally or in writing,” wrote Annie Charbonneau, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
Currently, Quebecers in the province’s red zones could face tickets of up to $1,000 for violating public health regulations.