A Kelowna parent is worried that Interior Health (IH) is getting overwhelmed by the number of students needing COVID-19 testing.
The parent, who wished not to be named, said one of his two children developed a cough over the weekend.
Having been told that students must be kept at home and tested if they have COVID-19-like symptoms by the Central Okanagan School District, the parent called the Kelowna testing centre at 9:33 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21.
But by 1:15 p.m., he was still on hold trying to book a test appointment for his child.
He said he’s worried about when flu season comes around when more students will need to be tested to ensure they don’t have COVID-19.
The health authority confirmed that since schools opened up again in the Central Okanagan, there has been an increase in call volumes and testing for COVID-19, but appointments remain within 24 hours after booking an appointment. IH added it will expand the testing centre’s hours if necessary to avoid long wait times.
“The Urgent and Primary Care Centre testing site remains consistently busy but we do have the capacity to handle requests for testing,” read a statement from Interior Health.
As for long wait times on the phone, the health authority is urging people to wait on the line or if they can’t get through immediately to hang up and try again in an hour or so.
“Sometimes, people may need to wait to get through and at other times of the day, people get through more quickly,” stated Interior Health.
“Our teams are working hard to ensure everyone gets their appointments and tests as quickly as possible.”
