7 people test positive for COVID-19 as London's testing lineups grow longer Tuesday
One new case is a Fanshawe College student. The health unit says 2 Western students refuse testing
The Middlesex London Health Unit reported seven positive COVID-19 tests Tuesday as hundreds of people waited in testing centre lineups that snaked through two London neighbourhoods.
All of the new cases are people under the age of 50, with three people in their 20s and one teenager. The health unit said one new case is a Fanshawe College student, which would be the second person with links to that school who has tested positive since classes resumed.
The health unit also said it knows of two Western students who are "high risk probable cases," linked to one of two community outbreaks, who have refused to get tested.
"They have symptoms and they have close contact to confirmed cases," said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie at the health unit's daily briefing Tuesday.
The health unit also said 15 students or staff from H.B. Beal Secondary School are in self-isolation after one student tested positive Monday. Both Mackie and education director Mark Fisher visited the school Tuesday and reassured the community that the spread from the infected student is low.
The Thames Valley District School Board has since launched a new coronavirus tracking page. Despite the health unit and the school board saying it won't confirm if a school case is linked to a student or a staff member due to confidentiality issues, the province tracks the data on its own website.
In the meantime, calls to improve the testing system continued Tuesday as lineups backed up for blocks through the Oakridge and Carling Heights neighbourhoods, where the assessment centres have been overwhelmed for days.
Police had been called to help channel vehicles into lineups and to keep traffic from bottlenecking at the Carling facility. Some people waiting in cars said they'd been turned away Monday and despite arriving early, were expecting another full day in line.
Despite the Middlesex London Health Unit urging people to only go for a test if they had symptoms, some people in the lineup said they worked for the London Health Science Centre, one of the largest employers in the city, which requires tests before returning to work after an illness.
Parents in the line also said they needed a negative test result before sending their children back to daycare.
For several days running, both testing sites have closed mid-afternoon when they reached their capacity of 400 tests.
Londoners with homes near the testing sites are also voicing concerns about the behaviour of some people in lines. They describe people urinating in bushes, throwing trash onto the road and disregarding masking rules.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie said Monday work is being done to open a centre outside of the city but details have not yet been announced. There are also discussions at the Oakridge site, which is run by the Thames Valley Health Team, to implement an appointment-based system.
Ontario reported an additional 478 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the most on any single day since May 2.