Kitchener's Epitome Genetics approved to process Ontario PCR tests

A Kitchener lab that offered to help the Ontario government process the thousands of backlogged COVID-19 tests says it has officially been approved and is ready to get to work.

Dave Erb, business developer at Epitome Genetics, said the lab was granted a temporary licence by Ontario's Ministry of Health to help process an estimated 1,000 PCR tests per day, with results released within 24 hours.

"It's quite literally chipping away at the mountain of backlogged tests," said Erb, who credits ongoing advocacy and media attention for the temporary license. 

Last month, the province restricted who could access PCR testing as a result of a surge in COVID-19 cases that put a strain on public health resources.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson said Ontario Health was exploring opportunities for additional labs to support provincial testing "as higher infection rates lead to increased health human resource shortages."

The provincial lab network is made up of more than 70 hospital, community and public health labs, as well as 10 high-capacity labs in areas such as Toronto.

As of Jan. 18, Ontario Health says, 68 per cent of PCR tests have been processed within two days of collection. The tests Erb's lab will be processing will primarily be from the Toronto area.

Erb said Wednesday the lab is in the onboarding process and the licence is set to be issued within the next week. It'll be active until March 31.

Expanding local capacity

While his lab is willing to help wherever needed, that temporary licence doesn't address the need for local capacity, said Erb.

Some local PCR tests are processed through local hospitals, but Erb said many are sent outside the region, leading to longer wait times for results and adding pressure to the current backlog.

Because of that, Erb said at least 36 Ontario long-term care and retirement homes, the majority of which are in Waterloo region, have used his lab to process tests more efficiently and get isolating employees back to work as soon as possible.  

"It is based on the turnaround time. They have staff that are home isolating because they were in close contact. They have residents who are in isolation in their rooms for days. they're just at a point where they can't wait any longer and they need to get access to faster results."

Fairview Homes, which has long-term care and retirement homes in Cambridge and Waterloo, turned to Epitome Genetics lab after experiencing prolonged wait times for test results, said chief executive officer Elaine Shantz.

"As our health-care system has been overwhelmed, we were waiting long periods of time to see the return of the PCR tests. Sometimes it could be from 10 to 14 days, so we are always looking at innovative ways to make things better," said Shantz.

Erb said the lab, along with local long-term care and retirement home officials, are petitioning the Ministry of Long-Term Care for a permanent solution in Waterloo region. Erb said they're urging the province to grant his lab a permanent licence to be able to process more local tests on an ongoing basis.