SUDBURY -- Sudbury's hospital, Health Sciences North, has set up a new coronavirus (COVID-19) screening centre for people wanting to get tested.

It's just a block away and around the corner at the hospital's research institute on Walford Road.

The hospital says the goal is to minimize the significant number of patients presenting themselves to the emergency department at HSN.

Patients will be assessed and swabbed as deemed appropriate, not everyone who goes to the clinic will be swabbed.

This screening is by appointment only, and for safety reasons, walk-in appointments are strictly prohibited.

For an appointment at the assessment centre, the following criteria must be met:

Symptoms:

Fever (over 38 degrees Celsius) and/or cough (new or worsening) 

AND 

Exposure history within the last 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms: 

  • Travel outside of Canada
  • Travel to an impacted area within Canada. Until March 18th, this includes attendance at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2020 conference in Toronto
  • Had close interactions with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19
  • Had close interactions with someone who has symptoms of COVID-19 who recently travelled outside of Canada or to an impacted area within Canada

There are two steps to be followed to receive an appointment at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre: 

  • Patients need to complete an assessment by telephone and will be triaged by a nurse from HSN;
  • Patients triaged by the HSN nurse will be given an appointment to the COVID-19 Assessment Centre as required. For patients who may have difficulty presenting for an assessment, arrangements will be made for an assessment at home from an employee of the Greater Sudbury Community Paramedicine Program.

An individual who meets the criteria above must call the assessment centre at 705-671-7373 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. rather than going to the hospital's emergency department. Basic intake information will be taken and a clinician will call them back for the next steps.

Anyone with general questions should call Public Health Sudbury & Districts at 705-522-9200 or toll-free 1-866-522-9200 and not the hospital.