Drive-through COVID-19 testing facility opens in Regina

People concerned they might have COVID-19 now have a new way to get tested that could make things a bit easier.

In Regina on Tuesday afternoon, the Saskatchewan Health Authority opened the province’s first drive-through testing site. A site in Saskatoon is to open Thursday.

The authority opened up the Regina facility to the media Tuesday.

Entrance to the drive-through testing COVID-19 testing facility at the International Trade Centre in Regina on Sept. 8, 2020. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Drivers pull up to a line behind the International Trade Centre at Evraz Place. When they pull up to the doors, they will be reminded to have their health card ready and will be given a mask if they don’t have one already.

When they pull up to the second station, a worker will take all their information, filling out forms and the lab requisition.

At the last station, a worker will take a swab and then the patient can be on their way.

Sara Johnson, one of the primary health-care directors in the Regina area with the SHA, said the whole thing should take between six and 10 minutes once a vehicle gets through the door.

“(It’s all) depending on the individual themselves, and sometimes there’s some education that has to happen with the individual in the vehicle. And then, of course, it would change based on the number of occupants in the vehicle,” said Johnson.

More than one person in the vehicle can be swabbed during a visit, so potentially an entire family could be swabbed at once.

A worker setting up at the drive-through COVID-19 testing facility in Regina on Sept. 8, 2020. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

The International Trade Centre is a large space so there are several different lanes to which drivers can be directed. Johnson said the capacity health officials open up will be based on demand.

“That’s something that we’re going to be working through in the first couple of weeks as we’re open,” said Johnson.

How people are contacted with their results and the turnaround time for the swab are the same for drive-through testing as they are for regular testing, but Johnson said the drive-through could be a bit quicker in some cases and more convenient.

Johnson explained patients don’t have to call HealthLine 811, and therefore won’t have to wait for a call from Public Health to set up a time for a test. They also will be able to get a test outside traditional hours.

The testing site in Regina will be open between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

In Saskatoon, the site at 3630 Thatcher Ave., will be open from noon to 7:15 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

More information and maps to the two facilities can be found here.

Johnson said those times can be changed if the SHA feels it’s needed.

Johnson said officials don’t know how popular the drive-through testing will be.

“We’re expecting with the start-up of school and summer ending that we may be busier, but (it’s) really hard to predict. Our demand at the testing site has fluctuated a lot, (it) goes up and down, and we try to assess that at the end of each day what our demand will be the next day,” said Johnson.

Drive-through testing is one of the strategies the health authority is using to increase testing capacity in the province.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an amended version of the story, with corrected hours of operation for the Regina testing site.