Barrie’s first COVID-19 assessment centre is open and a long line-up had formed even before the doors opened.
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) President/CEO Janice Skot was at the centre on Monday afternoon and said that while patients will be asked a series of questions, any swabbing for COVID-19 does not happen at the 490 Huronia Rd. facility.
“Patients who are concerned that they have COVID-19 symptoms are going to be seen and screened. They will see a health professional and if necessary, will go on for further testing,” said Skot. “It is important to know for the public, the actual swab or chest x-rays won’t be taking place at the assessment centre.”
The doors to the centre opened at 2 p.m. and a line-up of approximately 30 people stood outside, some wearing masks, some coughing. Once inside and screened, anyone who needs further testing will be redirected to RVH.
People are being asked not to go to RVH if they’re feeling some of the COVID-19 symptoms as the health centre has been overrun with people and they are already busy.
“We’re trying to make sure our emergency department stays open for those in an emergency not related to COVID-19,” said Skot. “At the same time, we know it is an anxious time and people do need reassurance.”
Three people in the Simcoe-Muskoka Region have tested positive for COVID-19. A woman in her 40’s from Bradford-West Gwillimbury is now recovering in self-isolation at home after checking in at Southlake Regional Hospital on Friday, March 13.
An Alberta man visiting the province came into Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie on Wednesday, March 11 and is being treated at the facility. He is in serious but stable condition.
Barrie’s first confirmed case was on Thursday March 12, when a Barrie man who had visited Germany and Spain, became ill and checked into RVH where he was tested on Monday, March 9.
All three were travel-related and were not community transmissions.
No one knows how many people will need the centre on Huronia Road, but should numbers become too great, there is a plan for another one.
“Our planning team has been working together and we already have a secondary site identified, which will depend on the volumes along with human resources available to staff it and supply it,” said Skot.
The centre allows one person at a time to come in and get assessed. The space is also set up to allow for social distancing and to make sure there is a two-metre perimeter between people visiting.
RVH staff want people to know that the centre is not a walk-in clinic and is only an assessment for COVID-19.
Physicians at the assessment centre will not be providing ‘return to work’ notes – that is not the function of the clinic. They will provide instructions to patients to either self-monitor, or self-isolate based on their assessment.
For the most part, people with symptoms of COVID-19 can and will safely recover at home and the self isolation period is so they don’t pass it along to others.
Patients are asked to dress for the weather as they will remain outside the building until called in, to allow for appropriate social distancing.
This week (Monday, March 16 to Sunday March 22), the assessment centre hours are as follows:
Monday, March 16 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 17 to Sunday, March 22 from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Before visiting an assessment centre, individuals should first seek guidance on whether it is appropriate for them to do so. Ontarians can do so by using a new online self-assessment tool, calling Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 or calling the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit at 705-721-7520, 8:30 am - 8 pm and weekends 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
People should not go to an assessment centre unless they have symptoms of the COVID-19.
