August 22, 2020 – Ben Bengtson/North Shore News

The new testing site will be particularly important to the North Shore’s current response to COVID-19 by taking some of the pressure off of the Urgent and Primary Care Centre on Esplanade, according to North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma.

The care centre, which opened in November 2019, was particularly important during the height of the pandemic when many clinics were closed to in-person visits and the centre also helped relieve some of the burden put on the busy Lions Gate Hospital emergency room, said Ma.

“We do know that a substantial number of patients who visit the Urgent and Primary Care Centre are there for COVID-19 testing. I think that a lot of these patients will likely prefer a faster walk-in, drive-through experience,” said Ma. “They have been experiencing quite a lot of pressure and this additional testing site will definitely be able to help separate some of the caseloads that the Urgent and Primary Care Centre is getting.”

Ma also praised how quickly VCH and other North Shore community partners were able to transform the Centennial Theatre parking lot into a COVID-19 assessment centre.

Read the full article at nsnews.com.