Rising COVID-19 indicators in Ontario prompt calls for expanded access to PCR tests

With COVID-19 indicators rising in Ontario, opposition politicians are calling on the government to expand access to PCR tests for the virus.

Critics have been calling for Ontario to reinstate broad access to the gold-standard tests, which have been restricted to certain groups of high-risk people since December when the Omicron variant overwhelmed resources.

Those calls continued on Wednesday as some suggested the province was entering a sixth wave of cases after a lull following the peak of the Omicron wave.

Liberal House Leader John Fraser says "a sixth wave is upon us" and therefore the government should broaden access to the tests, a call echoed by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner called on the government to keep offering rapid antigen COVID-19 tests for free at pharmacies and grocery stores next week.

A program offering tests at those sites was set to run for at least eight weeks when it was introduced in February, and a spokeswoman for the health minister says the province is considering whether to keep it running.

Alexandra Hilkene says Ontario is also waiting for the federal government to confirm it will continue supplying rapid tests.

The calls came as Ontario reported 1,610 new virus cases -- though the province's top doctor has said the number is likely 10 times higher due to the PCR testing restrictions -- and a test positivity rate of 15 per cent.

There were also 778 people in hospital with the virus, including 165 patients in intensive care.

The hospitalization number dipped slightly from 790 the day before but the Ontario Hospital Association noted on Twitter that daily hospitalizations were still trending upwards.

Ontario dropped the majority of its public health measures aimed at containing the virus this month, with masks no longer required in most indoor public settings and the proof-of-vaccination system for businesses and other settings dissolved.

But some local health officials were advising people to keep masking on Wednesday in light of the shifting virus indicators.

Ottawa's medical officer of health published a statement on rising levels of COVID-19, saying the city's wastewater viral signal test positivity were both and "very high."

Dr. Vera Etches said hospitalizations are "stable" but that could change as cases continue to spike.

"The pandemic is not over and we are currently experiencing another resurgence," she wrote.

Etches said Ottawa Public Health had informed the province's chief medical officer of the "concerning levels" of COVID-19 in the city. Her statement also said the public health "highly recommend individuals to continue wearing a mask indoors especially when physical distancing may not be possible or proves to be challenging in crowded areas."

Public health officials elsewhere in the province also advised that people keep masking.

Dr. Thomas Piggott, medical officer of health for Peterborough, said on Twitter that there is high risk for COVID-19 based on current indicators and said public health "strong recommends masking for all."

Durham Region's top doctor, Dr. Robert Kyle, also shared a statement saying he encourages residents to keep wearing masks in indoor settings outside their household, noting that "COVID-19 is still very much present and spreading in our community."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2022.