COVID-19 Testing

If you are at higher risk of severe outcomes of COVID-19, you are eligible for PCR or rapid molecular testing and should seek out testing as soon as possible if you develop symptoms and belong to any of the following groups:

• People aged 60 years of age and older
• People aged 18 years of age and older who have at least one condition that puts them at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease
• People aged 18 years of age and older who are unvaccinated or have not completed their first round of vaccinations (e.g., their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines)
• People aged 18 years of age and older who have received their first round of vaccinations (or primary series) AND received their last COVID-19 vaccine dose more than 6 months ago AND have not had a COVID-19 infection in the past 6 months
• People who are immunocompromised

You are eligible for PCR or rapid molecular testing if you have COVID-19 symptoms and belong to any of the following groups:

• Pregnant people
• Patients seeking emergency medical care or other outpatients where the health care professional judges it to be necessary
• Health care workers providing patient care
• Staff, volunteers, residents/inpatients, essential care providers, and visitors in highest risk settings including hospitals and congregate living settings with medically and socially vulnerable individuals, including international agriculture workers
• Household members of staff in highest risk settings and patient-facing health care workers
• Home and community care workers
• People who are underhoused or experiencing homelessness
• First responders, including firefighters, police and paramedics

You are also eligible for PCR or rapid molecular testing if you belong to any of the following groups whether you have symptoms or not:

• Individuals who are from a First Nation, Inuit, Métis community, and/or who self-identify as First Nation, Inuit, and Métis, and their household members
• Individuals travelling into First Nation, Inuit, Métis communities for work
• On admission/transfer to or from hospital or congregate living setting
• People in the context of confirmed or suspected outbreaks in highest risk settings as directed by the local public health unit
• Individuals, and one accompanying caregiver, with written prior approval for out-of-country medical services from the General Manager, Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)
• Any patient with a scheduled surgical procedure requiring a general anaesthetic 24-48 hours prior to procedure date
• Newborns born to people with confirmed COVID-19 at the time of birth within 24 hours of delivery, with a repeat test at 48 hours after birth if baseline test is negative, or if the parental test results are pending at the time of discharge
• People 24-48 hours prior to treatment for cancer or prior to hemodialysis, at the discretion of the treating clinician
• Staff of highest risk settings who, within the last 10 days, have had close contact with an individual with symptoms compatible with COVID-19 or an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19, for the purposes of facilitating return to work, as directed by sector-specific guidance or Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) or Occupational Health staff

COVID-19 test booking is now available through the new COVID-19 Online Booking System.

HSN’s COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Centre is located at 56 Walford Rd.

Swabs are done by collection of a nasopharyngeal swab.

Specimens collected at the Assessment Centre’s Walford Road location are exclusively tested by the HSN lab and are provided using RT-PCR on Health Canada and FDA approved instrumentation and assays which that are licensed for use in the province of Ontario, Canada.

HSN is a fully accredited clinical laboratory by Ontario’s Institute for Quality Management in Health (IQMH) whose standards are compliant with ISO15189.

If you no longer require your appointment, please cancel as soon as possible by calling 705-671-7373 so that we can offer it to another person. If you wish to rebook your appointment, please complete the request at COVID-19 appointment request.

The Bell Relay service (BRS) supports communication by phone between hearing people and people who are deaf, oral deaf, deafened, hard of hearing, or those with speech disabilities.

Contact a Bell Relay Operator (24/7)

1 800-855-0511 (to connect directly with someone who uses a TTY)

7 1 1 (if you are using a TTY)

1-800-855-1155  (TTY to TTY)

Please visit Bell Relay Service for more information.