Limited COVID-19 testing now available in Consort

Appointments available during the week for those who require local testing

CONSORT — Effective Wednesday (Oct. 7), COVID-19 testing will be offered by Alberta Health Services (AHS) at the Consort Hospital and Care Centre (5402 52 Ave.), inside the facility’s east entrance.

Open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. only, COVID-19 testing will be available by appointment only for those who are eligible and unable to access testing in alternate locations.

Currently, COVID-19 testing is recommended only for:

• Albertans with symptoms of COVID-19.
• Albertans who are close contacts of a confirmed case, whether symptomatic or not.
• Albertans who are linked to a known outbreak, whether symptomatic or not.
• Asymptomatic Albertans who require asymptomatic testing for the purpose of travel.

Additionally, healthcare workers, school teachers and staff, group home, disability support staff and shelter workers are eligible for COVID-19 testing. Correctional facility staff, as well as individuals who provide services in a clinical care setting, including clinics and pharmacies, are also eligible.

Across the Central Zone, AHS is working to provide access to testing for eligible Albertans by providing assessment centre access within 100 km or a one-hour drive time of rural communities. Local appointments will help those who cannot access alternate testing locations outside the community, including Stettler, Drumheller, Oyen and select pharmacies where, in some cases, weekend and evening appointments are offered.

AHS Public Health continues to offer in-home testing in Consort and across the zone for those who are housebound.

Appointments for the Consort assessment centre and others can be booked online at ahs.ca/covid. People without Internet access can call 811 and HealthLink staff will book a test appointment. Albertans have the option to consent to receive their test results by auto-dialer and SMS text message. Those who do not opt-in to receive results through these automated processes will receive results by a direct phone call.

COVID-19 results are also available through the MyHealth Records tool. Albertans who sign up for MyHealth Records are able to see their COVID-19 test results, as well as other lab work and immunization records, as soon as they are ready. Parents can also access their children’s COVID-19 test results in addition to their own by signing up for MyHealth Records.