THUNDER BAY – Plans are underway to begin processing COVID-19 tests from across northwestern Ontario in Thunder Bay, health officials have confirmed.
Public Health Ontario (PHO) said it expects to begin processing tests at its laboratory on Syndicate Avenue within the next four weeks. The agency is currently working to bring in necessary equipment and train staff.
Tests from the region currently have to be sent to Toronto, with results typically returned within two to six days in recent weeks. That lag time has caused headaches for local health officials.
While Thunder Bay’s regional hospital acquired equipment to test for COVID-19, a global shortage of the reagents needed to process the tests has frustrated their efforts. An initial shipment received Thursday was enough for only about 60 tests, with hospital officials unsure when more might arrive.
The PHO lab will employ a different method, real-time PCR, a form of molecular testing that can return results within hours. The lab will be able to process about 275 samples per day, while the agency said it could boost that capacity as needed.
The lab will handle tests from across the region, from the Manitoba border to White River, about 350 kilometres east of Thunder Bay, and north to Hudson Bay.
“The intent of having COVID-19 testing in Thunder Bay is to increase capacity in the province, improve testing service in Thunder Bay and the North, and to reduce turnaround times for test results to residents in the north and northwestern Ontario,” said a PHO spokesperson.
