New COVID-19 testing centre opens in Vancouver, more coming to other cities soon

Vancouver — As British Columbia's coronavirus caseload continues to surge, health officials are setting up new testing sites in several cities across Metro Vancouver.

The first new assessment and testing centre has already opened up in Vancouver, a city where many people have been forced to wait several hours for a COVID-19 swab.

Vancouver Coastal Health said the latest site is located in the north parking lot of Vancouver Community College, and that visitors can access testing on foot or by using a drive-thru.

The health authority promised another location is opening up in North Vancouver "in the next couple of weeks," and that operating hours will be expanding in Richmond and other cities.

"What we're looking to do in the coming weeks is respond, as we do, do to the ebb and flow of demand for testing," B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said at a news conference Wednesday.

"We want people to be able to get tested if they have symptoms of COVID-19 – even the mildest of symptoms."

Further east, Fraser Health has announced several measures to increase testing capacity, including additional staffing and new drive-thru lanes at some locations.

The health authority said it's also opening temporary high-volume testing centres in Surrey and other areas where officials have seen "a substantially increased need." It's unclear when those sites will open, but officials suggested it will be in the same timeframe as the North Vancouver location.

In the meantime, operating hours have been expanded at existing testing locations in Burnaby, Delta and Chilliwack.

Dix said the province currently has the capacity to test about 8,000 people per day, and that will be expanded even further as we head into cold and flu season in the fall.

"The cold and flu (symptoms) often mimic those of COVID-19, so we're expecting, and will need, more capacity," the minister said. "Doesn't mean we'll do 20,000 tests a day, but that we have the capacity to do that, should that be required."