Loss of wages while waiting and pleas for a spare online. This is what COVID-19 testing looks like

Pauline Klimeksays her 46-year-old husband Joe wasn't looking too good a little over a week ago.

He was working at his job in Hamilton's sewage industry when Klimek says Joe's boss sent him home to get a PCRCOVID-19testafter seeing he wasdrowsy.

Having used up sick days earlier in the year, unless Joe tookhis vacation days,he wouldn'tbe able to return to work orget paid until he receiveda negative test result. But tests have been hard to come by.

"There were only three sites in Hamilton that were offering appointments," the Hamilton-areawoman told CBC Hamilton on Wednesday.

After being sent home from work on Dec. 22, he got anappointment on Dec. 27.Klimek said theywaited for more than an hour in the freezing rain at Mohawk College before getting the test.

Three days later, after two calls with "frustrating" long waitsto the province to find out where the test results might be,Klimek finally got through Thursday.

Results were in, after more than a week of lost wages: the test wasnegative.

Demand outweighing testing ability, says city

Waiting has become a common experienceamong those trying to get PCR tests andthe results, with many complaining online about the inability to book appointments.

The surge in demand follows soaring COVID-19 cases thanks to the Omicron variant's abilityto spread at a fast pace.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, is set to make an announcement at 3 p.m. ET that may include"testing guidance" but specificdetails of the announcement are not yet known.

Meanwhile, City of Hamilton spokesperson Michelle Williams told CBC Hamiltontesting centres aren't run by the city and operate under the direction of the province. According to the province,Ontario had59,259 test sampleswaiting to be processed on Wednesday.

"Hamilton's health-carepartnersare doing extremely high volumes of COVID-19 testing," Williams wrote in an email.

"Even with the increased ability to test, demand for testing is far outweighing ability to keep up to the rapid increase in demand, and it is challenging for testing to happen in a timely way. This is a situation occurring in many communities across Ontario."

She also said anyone waiting for COVID-19 test results needs to self-isolate for 10 days and should inform close contacts if they develop symptoms.

If someone has mild symptoms, no underlying health conditions and doesn't work in high-risk settings (e.g. hospitals, congregate living, prisons, shelters) they don't need a PCR test and should assume they're positive, she said.

"Given the significant demand on centres, we ask that if individuals decide to cancel their appointments or cannot attend to please cancel the appointment online to give other individuals the ability to receive a test," Williamswrote.

Woman findsrapid test after pleading online

Getting rapid tests which should beused for asymptomatic people and can only be considered a "preliminary positive," according to the province has been a challenge for locals, too.

Earlier this month, the province suppliedsome LCBO locationswith rapid tests, though the supply has since run out.It doeshostpop-up sites to hand some out, but the supply has not matched the demand.

Williams saidlocal public health has no involvement in the province's pop-up testing blitz.

Hamilton resident Ashley Lettssaid she triedfinding arapid test after realizing the soonest PCR test would mean waiting a week-and-a-half.

She says she only had a sore throat, but wanted to be sure it wasn't Omicron. Withno luck, she resorted to pleading with people on social media, asking if anyone had a test to sell or spare.

"It's ridiculous. I know we're in an unprecedented situation ... It doesn't make sense [that the province didn't] send the tests in the mail ... it's Hunger Games-y,"Letts said.

Testing roll-out is inequitable: McMaster professor

Ameil Joseph, amember of theHamilton Vaccine Readiness Network anda McMaster University associate professor with the faculty of social sciences, says the province's approach for COVID-19 testing doesn't do enough to consider which populations should be prioritized when it comes to access to testing.

"Who are most at risk? Where are we seeing more infections? Who should be prioritized? ... Without that kind of data andthat kind of care, what we're looking at is the exacerbation of the existing inequities we've learned are getting worse throughout the pandemic and, of course, existed prior to that," he said.

He pointed to the fact that free tests are inaccessible, but options remain for those who can pay.

"It's a really messed up situation where those who now can't afford to pay $180 or so to get a PCR test,say at the Eaton Centre in Toronto, or pay $50 to get five rapid tests mailed to theirhouse ...might not know if they're at risk to others or themselves."

Joseph said the city and the province need to invest more resources into public health and into higher risk populations. "We don't have collective understanding of who those folks are that are beingdisproportionately affected," he said.