Ontarians scrambling — and failing — to find PCR tests after positive rapid tests

Melissa Jones has played these kinds of “Hunger Games” before. She’s registered her son in city sports programs and found a booster shot for her husband in early January.

But after her husband tested positive for COVID-19 on a rapid test — joining what one expert estimates to be 735,000 to 1.4 million Ontarians currently infected with the virus — it was the search for a PCR test appointment that at last bested them.

As still recommended by public health units, they tried to snag appointments when slots opened up, frantically refreshing pages while caring for a baby and their six-year-old son.

“The process is so confusing and so onerous, and I’m a younger person and internet-savvy,” she said. “And with a four-month-old I was just not willing to schlep us all out to a pop-up clinic to try our luck.”

Jones later tested positive on a rapid test and gave up trying to find confirmatory PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests amid frustration echoed by many in Ontario who have tested positive on rapid tests, been notified of an exposure or are showing cold symptoms.

Some told the Star they require negative PCR tests to return to in-person work, or a positive PCR test to show they can’t come to work due to COVID. Many are lining up sick for hours in the cold for a chance at a test, while others are paying out of pocket through private testing options.

Without a PCR test, it’s also not possible to use the federal COVID Alert app to notify potential contacts.

Meanwhile, with testing capacity maxed out and positivity rate on Wednesday of 26.9 per cent from 60,000 tests, the province has been considering new testing guidelines. A press conference scheduled for Tuesday by Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, about testing and case-contact management was postponed, as the province looks into the new U.S. Center for Disease Control guidelines that reduce isolation time to five days for people who are asymptomatic, followed by five days of strict mask-wearing.

On Wednesday a ministry spokesperson referred questions about changes to testing to comments made by Moore on Dec. 21: “Our resources must be prioritized to ensure our most vulnerable are protected and that health care and essential settings remain open and functioning effectively.”

Ontario reported 10,436 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, but experts estimate a more accurate provincial number would be vastly higher.

“Friday (9,571 cases) was probably the day when things were most accurate. You just double it every two days from there … that would probably put us at 50,000 to 100,000 cases,” said Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency room doctor in Toronto, in an interview. “The testing obviously can’t keep up ... really anyone who has cold symptoms right now, like a runny nose, sore throat or fever, you can pretty much assume it’s COVID.”

Some assessment centres are also reporting that test results may take longer to come back due to high testing volumes.

Meanwhile, some GTA public health units including York Public Health are asking residents to tell them of rapid-test positives, so authorities have a more accurate picture of the spread of the virus.

Brad Wouters, the vice-president of science and research at the University Health Network, estimates that between five and 10 per cent of all Ontarians are currently infected with COVID, based on background prevalence testing from London, England, which is going through a similar Omicron wave. That would mean between 735,000 to 1.4 million Ontarians are infected.

“It’s very likely that most of the people in Ontario, in Canada are going to get exposed to Omicron at some point. And that includes all those people out there who are still unvaccinated,” he said.

Wouters expects the province will soon announce a change in PCR testing guidelines to prioritize certain groups, such as health-care staff and hospital patients. He says an increase in the use of rapid antigen tests, which can show when a person is infectious, could be a more useful tool for the general public going forward.

Experts are still waiting to see how Omicron will affect hospitalizations and ICU admissions but it is important to keep trying to slow the spread of the virus, he said.

“We don’t yet know what’s going to happen in that vulnerable population we need to be careful,” Wouters said, adding that promising medications may only become available in Canada in mid- to late January.

Hospitalization numbers are starting to climb but Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said Wednesday that despite rocketing case counts there are currently only two patients in ICU and only 20 hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Brampton Civic Hospital.

Dr. Amit Arya, a palliative care doctor in Mississauga, said measures including free and easily accessible rapid tests and N95 masks as well as improved ventilation in workplaces and 10 paid sick days for employees are critical to slowing the spread of Omicron.

“Our public health system is completely overwhelmed,” he said. He says there needs to be clear messaging that people must self-isolate for 10 days if they have symptoms (a sore throat, cough, runny nose, congestion and muscle aches).

And with the testing system unable to meet demand, he worries about consequences of that, like whether people will be denied disability claims because they were unable to obtain a positive PCR test to prove they had COVID-19.

“Individuals should stay at home when ill, even with mild symptoms,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said in a statement. The province provides three days of paid leave and said workers also have access to the federal recovery sickness benefit program, the spokesperson said.

The province is also asking the federal government to provide more rapid tests.

“While we were expecting to receive approximately 10 million rapid tests from the federal government this month, millions of tests have been delayed until the new year,” the spokesperson said.

In the meantime, Ontarians remain frustrated and confused about how and when to get tested.

Ewa Piatkowski says her family is unsure if they should be self-isolating. Her 100-year-old mother’s personal support worker has COVID symptoms but is still waiting for a PCR test to confirm. Current Toronto Public Health guidelines say a test is needed if there is contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, which Piatkowski said seems to mean her family is not eligible for testing until the PSW can get a test and the results.

“She doesn’t even have a date for the test. What should they do? Lock up and wait? Try to get tested themselves, request testing of my mother? Total lack of information and total confusion,” Piatkowski said. “It’s a paralyzing situation. It’s beyond belief that the province is unable to properly prepare and people are left in limbo.”

Daniel Venturuzzo of Mississauga began trying to find a PCR test after he was notified on Dec. 22 that his daughter might have been exposed to COVID-19 at camp. Then there was an exposure notice from his son’s daycare. Along the way, Venturuzzo started to show symptoms and tested positive on a rapid test.

He scoured each available testing site on the provincial website with no appointments to be found. Early Tuesday morning he finally booked appointments for the family for Jan. 2 — his son needs a negative PCR test to return to daycare.

“It is, pardon my language, a sh-- show,” Venturuzzo said from the room where he is isolating. One place he called was booking appointments for Jan. 20.

“It’s almost like people are booking appointments just in case they need them,” he said.

“How come we don’t have the drive-through testing places like we did at the start?” he said. “Why didn’t (the government) learn from their past lessons, why are we in such bad shape?”

Jones and her husband are keeping their precious last two rapid tests to use to make sure they can safely stop isolating.

“Ontarians want to be protected from COVID, they want to keep their families safe and their communities safe,” she said.

“My request to those in charge is just to please help us do that, because that’s not what I’ve seen.”

Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and court for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @alysanmati