Dr. Moore’s announcement postponed as demand soars for COVID-19 tests

Torontonians stood for hours to get their vaccine and tested as the variant continues to spread. Maleeha Sheikh asks Premier Ford how testing and vaccine rollouts are going as Ontario’s top doctor postpones an announcement yet again.

By Lucas Casaletto

A previously scheduled virtual announcement with Ontario’s top doctor has been postponed until later this week as officials review isolation guidelines in light of changes made in the United States.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore was expected to speak about the province’s case management, contact tracing, and updated testing guidance at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday but a spokesperson says it has been delayed.

Health officials say the change was made so they could evaluate Ontario-specific evidence after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shortened recommended isolation and quarantine periods for COVID-19.

On Monday, U.S. health officials cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the virus from 10 to five days and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine. Officials at the CDC said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that infected people are most contagious in the two days before, and three days after symptoms develop.

Early research suggests Omicron may cause milder illnesses than earlier versions of the coronavirus. But experts say the sheer number of people becoming infected — and therefore having to isolate or quarantine — threatens to crush the ability of hospitals, airlines and other businesses to stay open.

Ontario reported 8,825 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday amidst a recent surge in daily infections that has prompted a swift demand in testing. The province completed 72,639 tests on Christmas Eve — the highest tally in almost a year since January 16.

Ontario recorded more than 10,000 cases on Saturday, setting a record. The 10,412 diagnoses surpass the previous record of 9,826, which was set on Sunday.

Moore cancelled his other COVID-19 briefing that was initially slated for Thursday. One week ago, the top doctor hinted that Ontario was preparing to change its preemptive approach to testing and contact tracing as the Omicron variant strains resources, with residents being warned they could face long waits for tests.


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The province has hovered around 60,000 to 65,000 tests daily and is capped out at 70,000 with minimal space for more. From Dec. 20 to Dec. 24, Ontario averaged 57,900 daily tests as the percentage of positive infections surged in the 18-24 age group.

This has forced anxiety-ridden Ontarians to seek alternatives as residents have reported difficulty booking COVID-19 tests amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Before Christmas, hundreds of people lined up at Union Station to get free rapid COVID-19 tests — the last day Metrolinx was handing them out at the transit hub.

“We waited for two hours and were told once we got close that they ran out of [the] testing kits,” one woman told CityNews. “It’s hard to fathom. Almost everyone I know has been scrambling to get tested before the holidays. It’s a mess if I am being honest.”

Earlier this month, the Ford government announced a holiday plan to distribute two million free rapid tests to slow the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant. Officials also warned that individuals caught trying to resell COVID test kits could face a ticket of $750. If summoned to court and convicted the penalty could balloon to $100,000 and a year in jail.

Last week, Michelle Hoad, CEO of the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario, said when COVID-19 hit, 70 per cent of the province’s labs were short-staffed, and many workers have since retired early or left the profession due to the pressures of the pandemic.

Hoad said the recent surge in COVID-19 tests has laboratory professionals working more overtime and reporting burnout.

She said 95 per cent of labs in Ontario are currently “not staffed the way they need to be to deal with the demand,” and lab workers are struggling with mental health issues after months of long hours.

Some public health units, including Ottawa, have asked residents who have symptoms but can’t access a timely test to assume they are infected and isolate. Last week, the Middlesex-London Health Unit advised residents who develop respiratory symptoms to consider their illness as COVID-19, even without a positive test result.

In late August, the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario called on the provincial government to invest $6.2 million over four years to address a severe shortage of medical laboratory technologists in Ontario laboratories.


With files from Noushin Ziafati of The Canadian Press and The Associated Press

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