The province’s main private medical testing laboratory has temporarily shuttered 11 locations and reduced hours at five more due to COVID-caused staffing shortages.
A memo to B.C. health providers was posted on social media site Reddit.
“With the increasing cases of Omicron and pandemic protocols, LifeLabs has made the difficult decision to temporarily close and/or reduce hours for two weeks at select BC Patient Service Centres experiences significant staffing shortages,” the memo reads.
The province reported 2,239 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as well as three deaths. There are currently 439 people in hospital with COVID-19, with 97 of them in ICU. Both hospitalizations and ICU numbers have gone up in recent days.
Black Press Media has confirmed that eleven locations have been closed as of Tuesday (Jan. 11) and will reopen on Jan. 23. Five more have had their hours reduced.
The shuttered locations include:
- Surrey City Centre
- Nicola, Kamloops
- Harris Road, Pitt Meadows
- Crestwood, Richmond
- Yarrow, Victoria
- Hillside, Victoria
- Aberdeen, Richmond
- Main and Keefer, Vancouver
- Broadway, Vancouver
- Lynn Valley, North Vancouver
- Laurel, Vancouver
The locations with their hours reduced include:
- Bevan Avenue, Abbotsford
- Cedar Hill Vancouver
- Kerrisdale, Vancouver
- Burrard, Vancouver
- Colwood, Victoria
For more information on specific locations, visit https://locations.lifelabs.com/locationfinder.
Black Press Media has reached out to LifeLabs for more information.
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