As the number of Ontarians testing positive for the new coronavirus increases and the province ramps up its screening, there is still no need for routine, widespread testing, according to experts interviewed by the Star. At least not yet.

“I think we’re testing about the right number of people at this time,” said Dr. Jeff Kwong, a family doctor and a professor at University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. “[But] it’s a fluid situation...What I say today might be wrong next week.”

The province announced plans on Thursday to “rapidly expand” screening for COVID-19 — the disease caused by the novel coronavirus — by opening dedicated assessment centres at hospitals in North York, Scarborough, Richmond Hill, Brampton, Mississauga and Ottawa. Additional screening centres will open across the province later this month. Public health officials also said they are increasing the capacity of laboratories to “rapidly mobilize, monitor and coordinate COVID-19 testing.”

Dr. Anna Banerji, who also teaches at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said the province is wise to increase capacity now, even as testing for COVID-19 is still restricted to people exhibiting symptoms and who have traveled to impacted areas, or who have been in contact with someone who has contracted the virus. “Right now it’s time to get ready,” she said. “I think they’re anticipating the need (for testing) will grow.”

In the U.S., President Donald Trump and public health authorities have been widely criticized for a sluggish and bungled rollout of testing kits. As of Friday afternoon, the U.S. had tested 16,521 people, according to The Covid Tracking Project, a group of journalists, coders and analysts tracking publicly available data. Ontario had tested 5,129 people as of Friday morning. Canada-wide testing numbers were not readily available and the Public Health Agency of Canada did not respond to requests for that information.

“I think we’re ahead of the game compared to many countries, most notably the U.S.,” Kwong said. Some countries, meanwhile, are testing far more. South Korea, where authorities implemented drive-thru testing, has tested its population at a rate more than 10 times higher than Ontario.

As of Friday afternoon, 79 people have tested positive in Ontario (including five people who are no longer infectious) — a rate of about 1.5 per cent.

Both Kwong and Banerji said it wouldn’t be a good idea to implement widespread testing at this point because it would waste resources on low-risk cases. But Kwong said things can change quickly.

“I think the worry is for every community case that we do find, how many more are out there?” Kwong said. “How much testing would you have to do to find all those people who are out there?”

What should you do if you think you might have contracted the new coronavirus?

The first thing you should do is self-isolate and then call your local public health unit and health care provider, according to Public Health Ontario. If you go to see your health care provider for an appointment, avoid public transit. If you must take public transit, public health officials advise wearing a mask and sitting at the back of the vehicle away from others.

Who currently qualifies to be tested for COVID-19?

In general, only people who have a fever and/or cough or difficulty breathing and who, 14 days prior to the onset of illness either traveled to an impacted area or had close contact with someone who may have COVID-19, or had close contact with a person with acute respiratory illness who has been to an impacted area, says Public Health Ontario.

What is Ontario’s daily testing capacity?

Dr. Vanessa Allen, chief of medical microbiology with Public Health Ontario, said the agency’s Ontario lab currently conducts about 1,200 tests of samples for COVID-19 per day, with demand rising steadily since January. (The lab conducts multiple tests of a single patient.) She said PHO is working with hospital laboratories to increase testing capacity that would allow for 5,000 tests per day. “At present, there are already a few academic hospital laboratories that are doing testing for COVID-19, and more hospitals will be coming online in the next week or two,” said Allen.

Who performs tests for COVID-19 in Ontario?

Testing currently takes place at the Public Health Ontario Laboratory and several academic health centres. Allen said the agency is currently working with hospital labs to increase testing capacity within the larger health care system and more hospital labs will come online within the next week or two.

How long does it take for the results of the test to come back?

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Twenty-four hours, according to Public Health Ontario. But officials warn this timeline might be delayed as volumes increase.

Has Ontario seen any false negatives in its testing?

There was one case at the end of January in which a patient tested negative for COVID-19, but a more sensitive test conducted at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg found trace amounts of the virus. Public Health Ontario now uses the same test the lab in Winnipeg uses and there have not been any false negatives since then. Public Health Ontario stresses science is continually evolving and that tests are very sensitive and can pick up the smallest traces of the virus.

How are people tested for COVID-19?

For most patients showing up at their doctor’s office or local health unit, a nasopharyngeal swab will be taken at the back of the throat — administered through the nose. But it’s not as simple as a throat swab taken to test for illnesses like strep throat. Kwong says the process is much more involved. First, the patient should be wearing a mask, he said. Second, before seeing the patient, doctors must put on protective equipment, such as a gown, gloves, mask and face or eye shield. After the swab has been taken, the room in which the test was done has to be cleaned thoroughly. “It’s quite a production for every patient who comes in where we think there might be COVID,” said Kwong.