Drive-thru COVID-19 swabbing site begins testing children

Ottawa's downtown drive-thru testing site is now administering tests for children as young as 10 years old, to try to make more appointments available for families that have children but no access to a vehicle.

The age limit for the City Hall/NAC drive-thru testing site has been lowered, from 14 to 10, effective immediately.

Families that have access to vehicles, and have older children who need to be tested, are being encouraged to use the drive-thru site to try to free up appointment slots at the CHEO assessment centre at Brewer Park Arena for younger children or families that don't have a car.

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In its daily update, Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Task Force says the staff at the drive-thru have been trained by CHEO to prepare them for swabbing children.

The task force adds, swabs taken at both the City Hall/NAC site and the CHEO site are sent to the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association for testing, meaning the wait for test results is the same for both sites.