Coronavirus testing at Toronto hospitals booked for days

Toronto hospitals and COVID-19 centres now require appointments as of this week to get tested, and many are already booked for the next 48 hours.

It has only been a day and several Toronto hospitals are booked solid for COVID-19 tests until Thursday.

Now that appointments are required in order to get tested, whether or not you are showing symptoms, making one might be more difficult than it seems.

Most of the hospitals allow you to book online while others either require a call or need you to go in and make an appointment.

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Michael Garron Hospital has an online portal for its COVID-19 Assessment Centre located at 825 Coxwell Avenue; however, for the next 48 hours, all slots are full.

“The portals will show all available appointments within a 48 hour period. If no appointments are available, no slots will be shown,” said MGH on their website.

There are also no available slots at St. Joseph’s or St. Michael’s Assessment Centres for October 7 or 8, however, a new block of appointments will be released at 7 pm each day, according to Unity Health.

Hospitals like Mount Sinai are using a third-party tool, Eventbrite, in order for people to book appointments for COVID-19 testing at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre.

Dates are able to be reserved two days in advance; however, they are all “sold out” until October 7.

As for the Women’s College Hospital, their COVID-19 Assessment Centre bookings are already filled for the day.

At 6 am every day, online registrations open for another 600 people to get tested, according to the WCH.

North York General Hospital is also no longer taking appointments from the day at the Branson Assessment Centre. Although it is not listed when the next available days would be, the hospital asks that you “check back tomorrow for an appointment on Sat Oct 10.”

Sunnybrook Hospital is also no longer taking COVID-19 test bookings for the day. “Appointments can be made up to 48 hours in advance,” said the hospital on their website. “New time slots are available each day at 9:30 a.m.”

The University Health Network assessment centre at 347 Bathurst Street is also booked until October 7 for all spaces from 8 am to 8 pm.

The William Osler testing centre requires you to visit either their Brampton location at the South Fletcher’s Sportsplex north parking lot, 500 Ray Lawson Boulevard or Etobicoke location, Humber College overflow parking lot, 2 Janda Court, in order to make an appointment.

The Humber River Hospital requires all patients to call in order to book appointments at either location, their Finch site or Church site.

As for the Scarborough Health Networks Birchmount, Centenary and General hospital, you must fill out an online form where, if eligible, you will receive confirmation of an appointment by phone or email in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Shoppers Drug Mart locations that are doing testing require you to call in to book your appointment; however, that’s if you can get through without a busy ring tone.