COVID-19 testing wait times causing frustration for film production crews and travellers

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Evening Friday COVID-19 update

Just one day after Dr, Bonnie Henry expressed cautious optimism that BC is flattening the curve, today's COVID-19 numbers show 161 new infections in the past 24 hours. However, there are no new cases in the Island Health region. There have been three more deaths from COVID-19 since yesterday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 238.

COVID-19 testing results wait times causing frustrations

Film production companies and travellers say they're waiting too long for results of COVID-19 tests. They say what used to take 48 hours is now taking up to a week. Film companies say that's costing them money since they have to shut down productions until test results come back. Others who must be tested before being allowed to return to schools or workplaces are also expressing frustration with the wait times. BC's Provincial Health Officer says people who test positive for the virus are informed within 24 hours so that public health can help control its spread with contact tracing. Dr. Bonnie Henry says health officials are working with companies like Lifelabs to inform people who test negative for COVID-19 sooner.

"We have had some challenges in some parts of the province with getting the negative test results out in a timely way. This is really because we have several different lab platforms and the IT systems sometimes have a challenge talking to each other. We are absolutely working on that to streamline it."—Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

More than 20,000 tests for the virus were conducted in BC in the past two days. More than 19,800 of them have come back negative.

Motorcyclist pronounced dead from highway accident at Turner Road

A fatal accident has closed Highway 19A at Turner Road for at least another hour. Nanaimo RCMP says according to witnesses, at 2:45 this afternoon, a motorcyclist who was travelling northbound on the highway ran a red light at the Turner Road intersection. The motorcyclist collided with a vehicle that was turning onto the highway from Turner Road. The unnamed male on the motorcycle was pronounced dead in hospital. No one else was injured. Vehicle traffic has been diverted to Metral Road or Uplands Drive for most of the afternoon. Investigators are asking any witnesses or drivers with dashcam video to come forward.

Merle Logan Field copper thief arrested

Meanwhile, police have arrested a 31-year-old man in connection with a copper wire theft that put the lights out of commission at the city's Merle Logan Field. The arrest was made on Thursday morning, just one day after close to 500 feet of copper wire was taken from the light fixtures at the multi-purpose playing field. RCMP say a tip led them to one of the red barns at the Beban Park Recreation Centre, where they found the suspect in the process of stripping the plastic coating from the stolen wire. City officials believe most of the wire can be re-installed. They expect the lights to be up and running in the next couple of days. The unnamed man was released from custody and will appear in court on December 1st.