People waiting in line for COVID-19 test feeling the heat in Windsor

A Windsor man who went to get tested at the COVID-19 assessment centre at Windsor Regional Hospital says it was very hot in the lineup waiting to get in on Monday.

Bill Alder, 63, said one older man started getting dizzy and he was taken in right away, but Alder says the hospital was good about handing out water.

"Yes we are handing out water bottles for people having to wait outside in the heat. We are looking at more tent coverage so people aren't in the direct sunlight while waiting in line," said hospital spokesperson Steve Erwin.

"We had to start telling people at 2:30 pm that the centre closes at 4 p.m. We didn't want people waiting around and not being seen. The wait was an hour or longer at one point," said Erwin.

In a tweet, the hospital said it had a record day for testing at the assessment centre with 163 people being swabbed.

"That bests a previous high of 103 visitors on March 18, the third day the centre was open, and well above our daily average of 65 visitors," read the tweet. 

It also happened to be on the day Environment Canada issued a heat warning for Windsor-Essex all the way to the Greater Toronto Area as temperatures hit 30 C with high humidity levels. 

Alder said he waited about an hour and 45 minutes, but he encourages everyone to get tested. 

"It's reality. There's a hundred thousand people dead in the United States from this thing. And the way they're going, there's going to be two hundred thousand, because nobody takes it seriously," he said.

Alder said the test was uncomfortable but over quickly.

"Once you get through the door they give you a number. Then you go and give your information then actually rather quickly after that they call you in the back where you get the testing done," said Alder. 

His wife tested negative last week. He works at FCA's Windsor Assembly Plant, so he had to get tested as well and is now waiting the results. 

Chief of staff at Windsor Regional Hospital, Dr. Wassim Saad, said testing is a "critical tool" for tracing and tracking the virus in any region. 

"I think it's a great idea by the premier and anyone battling a pandemic to make testing widely available," he said. 

Half of the people tested yesterday had no symptoms of the virus, said Saad, and no one was turned away. 

He said although the heat is bad, drive-thru testing is not an option for Windsor right now because staff would have to endure the outdoor temperatures, too. Instead, more tents have been set up and more volunteers will hand out water bottles and manage the line--ups, if there are any. 

Saad said another testing site could be added at the hospital's Met campus if needed in the future, depending on volume. 

Janice Dawson, CEO at Erie Shores Healthcare, said the assessment centre there has also seen more traffic since the weekend when Premier Doug Ford urged people to be tested. 

"In light of Ford's comments over the weekend, really anyone that comes to the assessment centre will be tested," she said. "Whether they're symptomatic, asymptomatic, are here just because they want to know if they actually have been exposed to somebody. So we won't deny anybody going forward." 

Testing is being done everyday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Windsor Regional Hospital's Ouellette Campus and at Erie Shores HealthCare from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.