WINNIPEG -- As cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba continues to rise, the demand for testing has spiked, with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority saying staff performed the highest number of tests yet in a single day on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, provincial health officials said 12 new cases of COVID-19 were identified in Manitoba, meaning there are now 41 active cases in the province.
In the past seven days, there have been 36 new cases of the virus announced in the province and with the increase in COVID-19 cases, more Winnipeggers are going to get tested.
"We have seen a significant increase in demand at Winnipeg community COVID-19 testing sites in the last week," a spokesperson for the WRHA told CTV News in a written statement.
(Source: Glenn Pismenny/ CTV News Winnipeg)
The spokesperson said staff performed 523 tests on Monday – the highest number of tests done in a single day yet. Then, on Tuesday, the number of tests performed increased to 568.
"The community testing sites have been managing the demand to the best of their ability, and we would like to thank all the staff at the sites for their outstanding efforts," they said.
"An unanticipated surge in demand at the Main Street drive-through site today pushed them to full capacity for a period of time, and as such, some people arriving for testing were redirected to other testing sites in Winnipeg that had capacity."
Long line-ups could be seen at different community testing sites in Winnipeg Tuesday afternoon.
(Source: Glenn Pismenny/ CTV News Winnipeg)
The spokesperson said the WRHA is in the process of implementing short term plans to keep up with the surge in demand, while also preparing and equipping testing sites for the flu season.
Manitoba health officials said a total of 1,201 laboratory tests were performed on Monday.
