Rob: On Friday, testing capacities for COVID are going to be expanded in Banff with a new dedicated testing site.

Tanya: It’s going into an area adjacent to the Public Health Unit next to the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital. There definitely is a need for increased capacity and testing in the Valley so this is really welcome news.

Rob: We’ve been getting by with a couple of our local health clinics in Banff doing testing, but they were only doing an hour or two a day. We’ve had like a mobile testing clinic coming out here to focus on some of the workplaces that it might’ve had higher case rates, but a dedicated testing center for Banff is really fantastic news. I think there have been a lot of people who have been hoping for something similar to come to Canmore. This is pure speculation on my part, but I’m thinking since Banff is getting a dedicated testing site the chances that Canmore will also get one have now gone down.

Tanya: Alberta Health Services really does take a regional approach in the sense that they do not try to provide every service in every community, but centralized service in areas that have higher density populations, then the rural surrounding areas all travel into that central location. We’ve seen that, for example, in the loss of obstetrics at the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital many years ago, and that moving to Canmore. I also think Banff’s numbers and the rate of infection per hundred thousand people being one of the highest in the entire province means that the need for that testing right now is definitely in that community. One of the other things, especially for hospitality workers and seasonal workers, they don’t always have a vehicle whereas I think people who live in Canmore have a greater ability to drive to Banff.

Rob: Generally speaking. I don’t think everybody in Canmore has a vehicle and riding the bus when you might be COVID-19 positive is not a good idea, but for those who do, it’s a 20 or 25 minute drive which is probably what you’d be driving if you lived in a major city and needed to get to a COVID testing site. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.

Tanya: Alberta Health Services has told me directly that if you do not have the ability to drive out of the community to get testing, you can be referred to the Canmore Hospital to get your test. They didn’t answer my question if that’s through 811 or your doctor.

Rob: I think the caveat would be – don’t just walk into the Canmore Hospital and say, “I need a COVID test. I might be positive.” That would set off a number of alarm bells, I’m assuming.

Tanya: Yes, and that’s why they say you could be referred.

Filed under: Banff, Canmore, covid-19, Mountain Insider