Lisa wants to be counted.
The Barrie woman came down with COVID-19 symptoms on Boxing Day and rapid tests indicated she was positive. But like so many others in Barrie, she was unable to access a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.
Now, four days later with the symptoms all but gone, Lisa finally found a pharmacy willing to do a drive-by test.
“I want to know for sure,” she told BarrieToday. “I also want to do my part, to be part of the statistics. The numbers should be accurate.”
The earliest testing date available through the Sperling Drive testing facility on Wednesday was Jan. 7. Demand has far outstripped testing supply throughout the province. Even rapid tests are hard to come by.
Facebook is loaded with posts by people looking for one test or another.
The result, according to health unit officials, is that even with record numbers of COVID daily cases being reported — 13,807 cases in Ontario and 637 cases in Simcoe-Muskoka on Thursday — there are so many more that aren’t being counted.
The lack of meaningful metrics now has public health officials in search of other means to monitor the pandemic.
Stella Johnson said something has to give. She is the director of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s (RVH) COVID-19 testing facility on Sperling Drive, which can’t keep up with demand.
“Sperling continues to be extremely busy. We’re seeing upwards of 800 patients per day for testing,” she said. “And for the first time in this entire pandemic, we are not able to keep up with the demand.”
With bookings more than a week out, the math indicates roughly 7,000 people are waiting for their appointment at the Barrie facility. There are efforts to accommodate more people when possible.
Johnson said every day the staffing level is assessed; that could often result in the opening of additional spaces throughout the day. On Wednesday, 100 people were given same-day appointments, which was in addition to those that had been previously booked.
All available health workers are either busy conducting 800 tests every day or administering 1,400 COVID-19 vaccines daily, she said. Like the general public, some health workers have become exposed to COVID-19 and also become sick.
If more human health-care resources were available, she said the centre could increase capacity.
“Right now, we’re managing both the Sperling site, of course, and the main campus of RVH where we are completely full. And the emergency department at this time of year is the busiest that it would ever be as it’s one of the only health-care options available,” Johnson said. “So we’re really just trying to manage the demand here, the demand at the main campus and how to stretch our health human resources to do both.
“If we could find qualified nursing staff who are able to swab a patient or provide immunizations, absolutely… we have the ability to staff up," she added. "It’s finding health human resources and keeping them asymptomatic and able to come to work that becomes a challenge.
“We have lots of staff at all centres that are starting to develop symptoms.”
In the absence of additional human resources, Johnson is looking for more direction from the provincial government, such as more specific testing criteria that will lay out who needs to be tested and who might just presume they are positive.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit acknowledges that testing is becoming increasingly elusive. Given the rapid spread of the omicron variant and the forecasted high rates of transmission, case and contact management is also dropping.
Those with symptoms are advised to remain in isolation in their homes for 10 days following the onset of symptoms, even if they cannot access a test, and notify their contacts that they may be a case. They should also seek medical assessment if their symptoms become severe.
Those required to self isolate include:
- Anyone in the household tested positive on a rapid antigen test;
- Anyone in the household with COVID symptoms;
- Household members of someone who has tested positive.
