Practise patience as lineups grow at COVID-19 testing sites, Winnipegger urges after altercation

Patience — and podcasts.

That's what Winnipegger Jorge Requena Ramos recommends for anyone planning to get a COVID-19 test, after he witnessed an altercation late Monday afternoon at the King Edward Street drive-thru testing location.

Requena Ramos had been in line for about an hour when, around 5 p.m., he saw a driver in an SUV cut in front of another motorist.

He estimated the person who was cut off had been waiting in line for somewhere around two hours.

People have reported waiting in line at Winnipeg testing sites for up to four or five hours in recent days.

"The man that got out of the car went and told the other car, 'You have to drive around.… We have all been waiting in this line for a really long time. You have to wait for your turn,'" Requena Ramos recalled Wednesday afternoon in an interview with CBC Radio's Up To Speed.

The person who was cut off got out of his car and knocked angrily on the window of the other driver's vehicle, "and then tried to drive the car on the sidewalk in front of the other car," Requena Ramos said.

He figures the driver of the SUV tried to be sneaky and cut in, not imagining it would provoke the response it did.

He said that was one of two instances in which he saw drivers knock on the windows of other cars, while he patiently bided his time in the lineup.

In this case, the two vehicles ended up blocking traffic on King Edward Street.

"It looked like a really dangerous situation, not only because of the possibility of an altercation," Requena Ramos said.

The person who was cut off was "rightfully angry," he said, "but he could have gotten run over by a car or they could have both been run over by a car."

It was at that point Requena Ramos called the Winnipeg Police Service to report the altercation.

Const. Jay Murray said in an email to CBC News that police responded to the altercation Requena Ramos described.

They met with security, and no injuries or fighting were reported, he said.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, Manitoba's deputy chief public health officer, said there are a lot of people with symptoms going to get tested and a lot of pressure on the testing system.

But he wants Manitobans going to get tested to show compassion.

"We need to be kind. We need to create expectations that are reasonable as well," he said during a Wednesday news conference.

"And from a public health perspective, we are looking at different ways to improve testing capacity and expand that testing capacity."

Requena Ramos, who described the altercation as "one of the most disappointing moments" he's experienced in his 17 years living in Winnipeg, didn't make it to the front of the line before the testing site closed for the day.

He returned Tuesday at 7 a.m., only to find himself behind about 100 vehicles — waiting patiently.

"If you're going to go get tested at any of the sites, please wait for your turn. It is the fair thing to do," said Requena Ramos, who grew up in Mexico City — where he learned an important lesson.

"You just have to wait for traffic to move."

He also recommends bringing some water and maybe a few podcasts to listen to.

"Make sure that you're ready to be there for a long time, because it will be a long time."