Kids COVID-19 assessment centre leaving Brewer Park Arena for CHEO
Orléans test clinic transitioning to a drive-up model at new site
Children looking to be tested for COVID-19 who would have gone to the Brewer Park Arena are being directed to CHEO, eastern Ontario's children's hospital in Ottawa, starting Thursday.
Also moving to CHEO is the Kids Come First care clinic, which sees kids for acute illness. Those with appointments should use the main entrance on 401 Smyth Rd. and the screening team will provide further directions, the hospital said in a tweet.
The COVID-19 assessment centre for adults at Brewer is still operating.
The children's hospital team processed 185,000 swabs and managed 6,000 care appointments at the central Ottawa arena, according to CHEO CEO Alex Munter. It was one of the first testing sites in the province when it opened March 13, 2020.
Munter said in a tweet the reason for the move now is that fewer children are eligible for PCR testing.
A fond farewell as <a href="https://twitter.com/CHEO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CHEO</a> Team Brewer hosts their last huddle in the arena. Laughs, awards, a song & a COVID piñata! Over two years this team delivered for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ottawa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ottawa</a> with over 180,000 swabs done with care & compassion. Special thanks to several generations of leaders & Dr Ken Farion <a href="https://t.co/gkMWjc03Qr">pic.twitter.com/gkMWjc03Qr</a>
—@TammyCHEOCOVID-19 testing is also changing this week in the eastern Ottawa community of Orléans: the site at the Ray Friel Recreation Complex closed Tuesday.
It reopens Friday as a drive-up test site at the Orléans Health Hub at 2225 Mer-Bleue Rd. People who are able will get a test kit, swab themselves and give the kit to the lab.
Support will be available for people who can't swab themselves.