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By Tiffany Goodwein

COVID-19 testing and kids: Where to go and how long does it take?

Sep 15, 2020 | 6:03 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- It’s not unusual for kids to come home from school or daycare with sniffles or a cough, but as the world continues to be thrust in the midst of a global pandemic , what is different is how they respond. Dozens of parents across the city are now having to get their kids tested for COVID- 19.

CHAT News took to Facebook to find out what the experience has been like.

Some parents say they have been waiting days just to get in for a test. To speed up the process some are even traveling to Bow Island with the hopes of getting one done sooner.

Parents say the time frame to getting test results back varies from very quickly to days.

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“So my son was possibly exposed at a family event with his dad. So they had to go as an entire family unit, the dads, stepmom all had to go get tested, and they got their throat swabbed on a Tuesday or a Wednesday in Medicine Hat, and they didn’t get the results until the following Monday,” said parent Savanna Holland.

Holland said everyone that got tested ended up testing negative for the virus.

The wait times for people awaiting test results mean for many missing school and work until the results come in.

According to AHS, accessing and receiving test results varies.

“Those with symptoms can typically get an appointment with Public Health within 24 to 48 hours, however, those times can vary. The average time to get test results is between four and seven days, but again, these times can vary,” AHS said in an emailed statement to CHAT NEWS.

Parents can get their symptomatic children tested for COVID-19 seven days a week by booking an appointment at ahs.ca/covid or by phone by dialing 8-1-1.

For kids that do not display symptoms or those with no known exposure, testing is available at some select pharmacies. A list of pharmacies that conduct asymptomatic testing can be found here.

One pharmacy offering Asymptomatic Testing is Southview Pharmacy, and owner Ahmed Saleen said they’ve been busy testing kids since they began asymptomatic testing last week.

“ A lot of kids, especially recently with the smoke. The school sends them out and send them back to house and then the family freaks out and then they come here to make sure they are safe and healthy,” he said.

Saleen estimates about 25 per cent of all tests conducted at his pharmacy so far have been kids expects that number to grow by at least 50 per cent.

With testing expected to ramp up, the province said that they are working to improve response times. This past weekend the province set a record of over 18,000 tests completed on Saturday. More staff have been brought in to handle the backlog, according to the province. On Monday Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the province is also working to make the online portal MyHealthRecords accessible for Albertan of all ages so that parents of kids can receive results online. Currently, the online record system is only available for people 14 and up. Hinshaw did not provide a timeline as to when the initiative will begin.