TORONTO — Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms who lives in a virus hot spot should get tested, Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday, as Ontario conducted about half the tests it had the capacity for.
Ford said some people in regions where infections are surging appear to be holding back from getting assessed for the novel coronavirus.
"If you're showing symptoms, please come in and get tested. That's the most important thing," he said. "We just haven't been able to get enough people there."
Ford's comments come as Ontario reported Tuesday that it conducted 24,049 tests over the previous 24 hours, with nearly the same amount being processed.
The latest completed tests resulted in 821 new cases being reported, along with three new deaths due to the virus. The majority were in the hot spots of Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and Ottawa.
Ontario currently has the capacity to conduct 50,000 tests, the premier said, and has cleared a processing backlog. The province has also set up additional testing units in North Toronto and Brampton, where virus rates have been rising.
"We have the capacity now ... and people aren't coming in," Ford said.
The province changed its testing guidelines last month, making COVID-19 tests only available to symptomatic people by appointment at its assessment centres. Some people without symptoms can get tested at pharmacies, but only if they meet certain criteria, such as having a loved one in a long-term care home.
The change came after the government was heavily criticized for hours-long lineups at walk-in testing centres that assessed people with or without symptoms.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said earlier Tuesday that the province is still working to ramp up its ability to process tests, with labs currently able to handle between 40,000 to 45,000 assessments daily.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath called the daily testing numbers "dismal" and said it's another example of the government failing to address the pandemic.
"It should never have come to this," she said. "All of the time over the summer should have been spent making sure these systems were up to snuff."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 20, 2020.
Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press
