{"id":817,"date":"2020-12-04T01:05:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T01:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/?p=817"},"modified":"2020-12-14T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T00:01:00","slug":"is-the-new-vanier-covid-19-testing-facility-working-as-well-as-it-should","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/noveltimes\/2020\/12\/04\/is-the-new-vanier-covid-19-testing-facility-working-as-well-as-it-should\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the new Vanier COVID-19 testing facility working as well as it should?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-31px|auto||auto||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]

The Vanier Community Service Centre on 270 Marier Avenue is being used as a temporary COVID-19 testing centre two days a week. (Photo by Jonathan Got)<\/span><\/em><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]

OTTAWA \u2013 Nine months after the first COVID-19 testing facility opened in Ottawa, Vanier is finally getting one of its own. The city made the announcement on Thursday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The temporary facility, located at 270 Marier Avenue, will open its doors for the first time next week. Residents can get tested on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vanier residents were previously serviced by a mobile testing clinic. But <\/span>according to the advocacy group ACORN Canada<\/span><\/a>, they often had to go to another facility more than an hour away because the mobile clinic moved around.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce said in an email that it identified the Vanier community as an underserved area. \u201cThis temporary testing site serves residents who face barriers accessing other testing locations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rideau-Vanier ward has among the lowest median incomes at $30,000 compared to the city\u2019s $42,000, according to <\/span>2016 census data<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although a testing centre is now within walking distance, one Vanier resident said it could have been set up more effectively. \u201cIt\u2019s not advertised in advance, so nobody knows about it,\u201d said Charlotte Taylor, who has lived in the area for 30 years.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cMy neighbors don\u2019t have internet \u2026 how do these people know the site is open?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mathieu Fleury, Ottawa city councillor for Rideau-Vanier, was not available for comment.<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]