Interior Health is reporting a surge in COVID-19 test requests in Revelstoke, leading to delays in testing.
On November 19, the Interior Health website where you can book a test online lists no available testing slots for Revelstoke. On the evening of Wednesday, November 18, the website released testing appointments for Saturday, but those have since been booked. The website advises to “check back for available appointments throughout the day.”
In response to a request for information from the Mountaineer, an Interior Health (IH) spokesperson said there had been a recent spike in requests: “The Revelstoke COVID-19 collection centre has seen a recent surge in requests for testing. Tests are by appointment and people are asked to make an appointment online through the COVID-19 Test Booking Form, or call 1-877-740-7747 for assistance. Please visit this site for testing information.”
Interior Health said that the collection centre is monitoring the demand and increasing availability as required.
“Anyone waiting for a test means they have respiratory symptoms and should be self-isolating until their test and results,” IH stated. “Even if their COVID-19 result is negative, people should continue self-isolating until their respiratory symptoms resolve per BCCDC guidance here. Therefore, people waiting for a test should be self-isolating until, and after their test, regardless of the COVID-19 result.”
On Wednesday, November 18, two Revelstoke restaurants announced they were closing due to possible COVID-19 exposures. Across Revelstoke, businesses and organizations have adapted plans since news of local exposures spread on Wednesday.
The Mountaineer has independently confirmed there are multiple test-positive COVID-19 cases in Revelstoke since the start of November.
In the Revelstoke Local Health Area, statistics on resident cases for the Revelstoke Local Health Area (LHA) are only released once a month. The last update came on November 12 for the month of October, and showed no resident cases in the Revelstoke LHA for October. The numbers include cases for residents of the LHA, but not visitors who reside elsewhere and other exceptions, including those who may not have been tested.
For an explainer on how to get the latest COVID-19 information for Revelstoke, see this revelstokemountaineer.com story from Nov. 12.
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