Toronto man stuck in quarantine for nearly three weeks after three 'damaged' COVID-19 tests
A Toronto man’s mandatory travel quarantine was extended by six days — amounting to nearly three weeks of isolation and a missed vaccine appointment — after three of his government mandated COVID-19 tests were deemed “damaged.”
On May 24, Warren Kosoy drove across the Canada, U.S. border, after travelling to Charlotte, North Carolina on a work-related trip. At home in Toronto, he began his mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Eight days later, he performed a COVID-19 test, federally mandated for incoming travellers, managed by Switch Health, a Toronto-based health-care company. Until federal travel restrictions loosen next month for fully vaccinated Canadians, these rules remain in place.
When Kosoy tried booking a Purolator pick-up to deliver his COVID-19 test to Switch Health’s lab, the shipment was unavailable for 28 hours. During the wait period, the company advised Kosoy to place his test in the fridge.
Three days later, he received notice from Switch Health — his first test was “damaged.”
“I phoned three or four times and all of them said the exact same thing, we cannot tell you what happened to the test or why it was damaged,” Kosoy said. The health-care company notified him that a new test would arrive in one to five days, risking extending his quarantine, if it landed on the later side of that timeline.
The following day, a new testing kit arrived, but it was a Friday. “I didn't want to deal with doing it on Saturday, and being told we can’t pick it up on Monday, and then have the whole repeat again,” Kosoy said.
On day 16, Kosoy received the news: his second test was “damaged,” although the company could not disclose to him what caused another faulty test. Switch Health sent a nurse to his home to rush results for the following day.
In response to an inquiry from CTV Toronto, a spokesperson from Switch Health said, “There are rare occasions when kits are incorrectly registered or damaged, and replacement kits are sent out to travellers right away.”
Day 17 of Kosoy’s quarantine came and went, with no word on his results. One customer service employee asked him for a Purolator number, despite the fact that a nurse had personally come to his home and tested him to avoid shipping delays. Once the error was realized, they promised his results by midnight.
The following day, Kosoy missed his appointment for his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Then, his third test came back “damaged,” which according to Switch Health is very rare. “The number of travellers waiting past 14 days in quarantine is less than one 1 per cent,” a spokesperson told CTV Toronto.
That night, another nurse was sent to perform Kosoy’s fourth test. On Day 20, after six additional days of quarantine, Kosoy received a negative test.
“My main issue was the lack of empathy and complete lack of a backup plan. I’m sure I’m not the first person who has had a damaged test,” Kosoy said.
Others have voiced frustration on social media over delayed test results that significantly extended their quarantines. Trennon Paynter, head coach of a team Canada ski team, wrote on Twitter that his travel quarantine was three weeks long due to delayed delivery results.
“The amount of additional quarantine time that your abject failures imposed on countless Canadians is staggering,” he said on social media.
Another traveller posted on Twitter to express frustration on day 18 of their quarantine, still waiting on results, and a separate user said they completed four tests, with no word from the company for nine days.
While delayed tests and extended quarantines are a rarity, according to Switch Health, the company told CTV Toronto, “we do not want to see anyone in quarantine longer than necessary.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.