Brockville’s COVID-19 assessment treats citizens intermediately in front of citizens outdoors, Mayor Jason Baker said Tuesday night.
In his keynote address at the normal virtual meeting of the City Council, the mayor expressed what he called a “request” to the local team that manages the evaluation center, at the Brockville Memorial Centre. Baker called for the average limit of testing on the citizens of Leeds, Grenville District of Health and Lanark District.
“I think it’s troubling that capacity problems mean that our citizens can’t pass the tests they need,” the mayor said.
“It turns out to go against public fitness forums to continue inspiring others to leave their dominance to enter ours, especially if they think they want to take a COVID test,” Baker added.
A recent increase in COVID-19 testing spawned queues at the Brockville Evaluation Center.
Some of these motorists come from outside the three counties, adding larger COVID centers such as Ottawa or the Toronto metropolitan area.
“This is a fear that goes to my office, ” said Baker.
“There’s a public fitness challenge with hot spots coming into our place where lately we don’t have cases. “
The recent maximum physical health count of the 3 counties reported 8 active cases of COVID-19 in the region. Four of the active cases were in Lanark County, while two were in Grenville and two in West Leeds.
The headquarters comprising Brockville, Elizabethtown-Kitley, Front of Yonge and Athens lately has no active cases.
If you can’t stop outsiders from getting tested here, the review center staff at least forms two separate lines to prioritize residents, Baker said.
The mayor’s demands, however, must be heard.
The evaluation center is controlled through a team that includes the fitness unit, the Upper Canada Family Health Team, Brockville General Hospital, and paramedics.
Sherri Fournier Hudson, executive director of the Upper Canada Family Health Team, reiterated on Tuesday night a point raised earlier in the day through fitness unit officials: Health Ontario calls for centers to be open to all, as are emergency rooms.
Health officials also noted that during the following week, about 15% of visits to downtown Brockville arrived from outside the three counties area.
“For the most part, the other people who use the means of evaluation come from Lanark, Leeds-Grenville,” Fournier Hudson said.
On Tuesday, Brockville conducted 293 tests, Hudson said.
The team that runs the center is confident that the planned opening of some other assessment in Kemtpville on Thursday would ease some of the tension at the local center, he said.
(An earlier edition of this story contained a misquotment from Mayor Jason Baker. )