A nurse gets a swab ready at a temporary COVID-19 test clinic in Montreal, on Friday, May 15, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)
WINNIPEG — Manitobans seeking a COVID-19 test will soon be available to visit selected community medical clinics.
The province is working with Doctors Manitoba to enable testing for the coronavirus by physicians to alleviate some of the demand put on current testing sites.
“Doctors understand how important it is for Manitobans to have timely access to COVID-19 testing and that’s why physicians are stepping up to open their clinics to add more testing capacity,” said Dr. Cory Baillie, president, Doctors Manitoba.
“Doctors Manitoba and the provincial government are working together to support medical clinics in offering testing, with all the necessary precautions in place.”
Dakota Medical Centre at 17-845 Dakota Street in Winnipeg will be the first to introduce dedicated COVID-19 testing in community clinics. It will open to testing on Tuesday for individuals aged nine and up. Appointments can be booked at DakotaMedical.ca beginning tomorrow. Appointments will be offered weekdays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The initial rollout of community clinic physician testing will focus on clinics that provide the capacity to parts of the province that need it, with the opportunity to bring more clinics on board as future needs are identified.
Participating clinics will also have protocols in place to separate patient testing from regular medical appointments. Testing will also take place in either a different part of the clinic or after hours.
