Metro Vancouver experiences long COVID-19 testing waits

By Nikitha Martins

Posted December 20, 2021 1:08 pm.

Last Updated December 20, 2021 2:40 pm.

Massive line-ups are once again being reported at COIVD-19 testing sites throughout Metro Vancouver this Monday.

The Health Ministry admitted significant delays at testing sites in both Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health over the weekend. Long waits have prompted the government to ask people to avoid going to them if they don’t have any COVID-19 symptoms.

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CityNews spoke to people waiting in the hours-long line-ups Monday morning.

A family waiting in the car line for over two hours said that although they didn’t mind waiting to get tested, they hoped for more urgency.

“I wish the kids could at least get triaged because my daughter has a mild cough and my son coughed a couple of times,” said the woman.

Other people waiting in the standing line-up told CityNews they had been waiting in the cold for just under two hours with no end in sight.

When asked about why he thought the line was moving so slowly, one man said, “I don’t know, I presume it’s things around the test itself.”

According to Vancouver Coastal Health, the YVR COVID-19 testing site has reopened after being temporarily closed.

The B.C. government is set to hold a news conference Tuesday to address the massive line-ups.

– With files from OMNI News and Paul James

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