A COVID-19 assessment centre has opened at the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital.
The hospital has established a dedicated entrance to the assessment centre off of Hepburn Avenue.
Similar to the centre in Woodstock, the St. Thomas location doesn't allow drive-up or drop-in visits. Patients have to be referred for COVID-19 testing by a primary care provider or the local health unit - Southwestern Public Health. They will be seen by health care workers and undergo a COVID-19 swab test before being instructed to self-isolate while awaiting the results of the test.
"We are taking this step in St. Thomas in response to the province’s enhanced testing strategy to protect the most vulnerable in our community and those who protect them, like our frontline health care workers and first responders,” Robert Biron, president and CEO of the hospital, said in a statement. “The goal is to identify cases early, contain them and prevent putting more people at risk."
Anyone who arrives at the assessment centre without a referral will not be tested but will be directed back to their family physician or public health official.
The St. Thomas assessment centre will be open for at least four hours a day, seven days a week.