High demand for COVID tests as Hamilton reaches new peak for active cases

COVID cases are continuing to rise in Hamilton while the city struggles to meet demand for testing.

The city reported 402 new cases on Tuesday, for a new all-time high of 2,829 active cases. Another person has also died with the virus.

In an email late Monday, public health said the city is doing extremely high volumes" of COVID testing, with 1,700 tests done daily at the Mountain Testing Centre and Mohawk pop-up testing centre combined. Plans are underway to increase those numbers, said spokesperson Aisling Higgins.

Even with the increased ability to test, demand for testing is far outweighing ability to keep up to the rapid increase in demand," Higgins said in an email. It is challenging for testing to happen in a timely way."

She said the city is calling on residents to cancel their appointments online if they can't attend. Around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, it appeared the first available test appointment through Hamilton's online booking tool was for Jan. 7 - 10 days away.

Higgins noted the city and other public health units are seeking guidance from province.

More to come ...

Maria Iqbal covers aging issues for The Spectator. miqbal@thespec.com