Some COVID-19 testing waits exceed 5 hours in Metro Vancouver as lineups begin before dawn

Vancouver -

Wait times exceeding five hours have been reported at some COVID-19 testing centres in Metro Vancouver this week, prompting people to begin lining up before dawn to beat the rush.

There was a queue of test-seekers stretching down the block when the St. Vincent Collection Centre in Vancouver's South Cambie neighbourhood opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday. By the early afternoon, estimated wait times were around four hours.

One woman told CTV News she stood in line for about 90 minutes before being handed a rapid test kit.

"After waiting an hour and a half, I just wanted to get it done there by the professionals," she said. "We'll see how it goes. I hope it's accurate."

At the Richmond Collection Centre, located near Vancouver International Airport, lines were just over five hours.

Dr. Sarah Otto of B.C.'s independent COVID-19 modelling team says given the rate at which Omicron is spreading, the province's current testing methods won't hold up.

“Next week, with doubling times of three days, means we're looking at four times higher case numbers. It's going to be impossible," Otto said.

"The only way we're going to have a sense of how many people have Omicron is if we add capacity beyond PCR tests, for example rapid antigen testing."

On Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry suggested many of the people rushing to overwhelmed collection centres don't actually need to be tested, despite B.C.'s surging COVID-19 case numbers and the fast spread of the Omicron variant.

"I know many people waiting in line are trying to get a test not because they have symptoms but because they want to be reassured that they can go out and socialize or spend time with family," Henry said.

Shirley Bond, interim leader of the BC Liberals, said if the government doesn't want people getting PCR tests for peace of mind, the province should be freely distributing rapid tests instead, similar to Ontario and other jurisdictions.

"British Columbians are trying desperately to do the right thing. They want to be sure they are safe before they get together with people that they love and have been separated from," Bond said.

B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie joined those calls Wednesday. In a statement, she said:

"I am asking the provincial government to make rapid antigen tests available in the community so that individuals may test themselves prior to visiting their loved ones who are elderly and at a higher risk of severe illness." 

B.C. is receiving a shipment of 500,000 test kits next week, and will be getting millions more in January – but Ontario, Quebec and Alberta already requested and received millions of the tests months ago.

"We are seeing the results of what happens when you do not take advantage of those tools through the pandemic. We now find ourselves behind other jurisdictions," Bond said.

Even once the province receives additional tests in January, health officials said they will continue rationing them out where they believe they are needed most, rather than distributing them in a broad public giveaway.

Henry said those kinds of giveaways tend to result in tests being "rapidly taken up by people who have the agency to get them."

"How we'll continue to use them will be to manage people who actually have symptoms of COVID and need to know what they're dealing with to help with the management of their medical condition," she added.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Shannon Paterson