The Acting Medical Officer of Health for the Northwestern Health Unit says they have lots of capacity for COVID-19 testing.
Dr. Ian Gemmill says the provincial system is only at about 50% capacity.
Dr. Gemmill is responding to the premier’s plea that everyone should be tested, whether they are symptomatic or not.
“I think when you open it up like this, I think there will be a lot of people who’ve been waiting, who will want to come forward. I’m sure there are front-line workers, essential workers, who’ve been wondering all along ‘Am I as safe as I believe I am?'”
He says people shouldn’t just show up at local testing centres, adding its common courtesy to phone ahead and get and appointment.
Here are the unofficial test results as of May 25th:
| LHIN Health Hub Area^ | Positive | Negative | Pending | Total tests | Resolved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenora Health Hub Area | 2 | 938 | 271 | 1211 | 2 |
| Dryden Health Hub Area | 5 | 468 | 77 | 550 | 4 |
| Red Lake Health Hub Area | 3 | 154 | 50 | 207 | 2 |
| Sioux Lookout Health Hub Area | 2 | 233 | 119 | 354 | 1 |
| Rainy River Health Hub Area | 1 | 69 | 21 | 91 | 1 |
| Emo Health Hub Area | 0 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 0 |
| Fort Frances Health Hub Area | 2 | 745 | 208 | 955 | 1 |
| Atikokan Health Hub Area | 4 | 220 | 83 | 307 | 4 |
| Other | 2* | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Totals | 21 | 2853 | 853 | 3727 | 16 |
