B.C.’s private COVID-19 testing clinics adapt to surging demand
Posted February 3, 2022 10:05 pm.
Last Updated February 3, 2022 11:41 pm.
B.C.’s private COVID-19 testing companies are trying to adapt to changing demands in the Omicron wave, with public testing tightly restricted and spring break just weeks away.
In earlier stages of the pandemic, these clinics catered to asymptomatic people who needed a negative PCR test in order to travel or work in sectors like the film industry.
With surging case numbers and more widespread exposure to the virus, Kevin Liew with COVID Travel Vancouver says he’s seeing more people looking to confirm that they have contracted COVID. Eligibility for public testing in B.C. has narrowed, and most people experiencing mild symptoms don’t meet the criteria.
“With Omicron, unfortunately, a lot of people are actually looking for a positive result rather than negative,” he said.
“There’s been high demand, it’s increased quite a bit for symptomatic testing. We’re trying to handle the workload for that.”
In an effort to decrease the risk to clinic staff while still offering this option, Liew says drive-thru testing is now available.
“We want our staff to be safe, we don’t want people coming into our clinics with symptoms They stay in the car, and then we just come out and then do the swabbing for them.”
Another thing Liew says they have begun to offer is “recovery letters” for people who have recently tested positive, but have isolated for at least five days and are no longer experiencing symptoms.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician, explains why someone might need one of these documents. Viral fragments can remain for quite some time after someone is contagious. For people who are traveling, the risk is that an old infection will produce a positive result on arrival, sending them into quarantine.
“A lot of people who feel that they’ve had COVID, or believe they’ve had COVID, they want that proof that they had COVID within a certain amount of time,” she said.
The letter is a note from a doctor documenting the original date of the positive test result, either confirmed with a PCR or rapid test, and a subsequent visit confirming the isolation period has passed and symptoms have subsided. These notes can be used for travel, although Liew notes different airlines and destinations have different rules. The fee is $119.
Unlike in other provinces, rapid tests aren’t widely or freely available in B.C. They are accepted for travel to places like the US and the UK, and the fee at Liew’s clinic is $190. He says many people still opt for the PCR over concerns about accuracy, and that option costs $195.
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Andrew Rowntree’s Echo Health clinics still only offers asymptomatic pre-travel tests, but has recently expanded to offer a mobile testing option.
“The demand is a lot stronger than you would expect for travel this time of the year. It’s definitely busier than I was expecting.”
He says this is partly because they’re also seeing an influx of people who are seeking testing because they’re concerned they have the virus.
“That’s been a bit of a problem for us. We don’t want to have people are symptomatic coming in, and spreading it around particularly in the clinic,” he said, adding there are screening mechanisms in place meant to prevent this.
“We’re having trouble sort of weeding out those people. And that’s my understanding from a lot of other testing companies is no matter what you do, even when you put those barriers in place, and you have phone calls before the appointments — there’s no way to properly stop those people from just outright lying and coming in.”
While Rowntree’s clinic doesn’t provide recovery letters, he says it’s something they get a lot of inquiries about.
“We’re thinking about it and we’re looking into it, but things have been changing so quickly.”
