With a spike in demand anticipated with school starting in just a few weeks, Windsor Regional Hospital is introducing a drive-thru testing blitz for COVID-19 at the St. Clair Sportsplex.
The blitz is two days next week. On Monday, August 24 and Tuesday, August 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More dates will be added if needed.
"We recognize that many individuals will be returning to their workplaces this fall, and we anticipate a corresponding increase in demand for testing headed into September," said CEO David Musyj. "We hope that this drive-thru testing opportunity over a two-day period will be a welcome alternative to those who have been panning for a test before Labour Day."
The hospital also plans to open a COVID-19 assessment centre inside the Sportsplex on Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Just after Labour Day, it will be open the same hours as the assessment centre on Ouellette Campus until a more permanent centre opens at the hospital's Met Campus. Those hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekends.
The centre at the Met Campus has been delayed by several weeks. The hospital has been unable to find trailers to house patients and staff for testing. Demand for those has increased now that schools across the province will need them for the start of classes.
Immediately, St. Clair College offered the use of its Sportsplex for testing until the new centre opens. There was a temporary field hospital inside the facility earlier in the pandemic. It closed June 13 after the last patient from the Huron Terrace long-term care facility was released. It can reopen if needed.
Since the Ouellette Campus centre opened on March 16, more than 25,000 people have been swabbed for COVID-19.
There is also an assessment centre at Erie Shores Healthcare in Leamington, which is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
