There are two options when you are making your appointment to be tested for COVID-19 at the Community COVID-19 Assessment Centre located at NBRHC.
- Assessment Centre – located at the west end of NBRHC with parking in public lot #9
(children eight years old and under must use the assessment centre).
- Drive-thru option for testing – located at the west entrance of NBRHC.
The North Bay Regional Health Centre is now providing physician assessments to individuals with non-severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Patients who cannot safely manage their moderate COVID-19 symptoms at home can book an appointment by calling 474-8600 x 4110 to be assessed instead of going to the Emergency Department. Walk ins are not accepted at this time.
Patients with severe symptoms should still attend the Emergency Department or call 911.
Change to COVID-19 testing guidelines for general public – check eligibility before calling for an appointment.
Effective immediately and in response to the rapidly spreading and highly transmissible Omicron variant COVID-19 testing guidelines have changed for the general public.
Here is a list of groups eligible for molecular testing (PCR or rapid molecular testing) in our assessment centre:
- Symptomatic people who fall into one of the following groups:
- Hospitalized patients
- Patients in Emergency Departments, at the discretion of the treating clinician
- Patient-facing health care workers
- Staff, residents, essential care providers, and visitors in hospitals and congregate living settings, including long-term care, retirement homes, First Nation elder care lodges, group homes, shelters, hospices, temporary foreign worker settings, and correctional institutions
- Outpatients for whom COVID-19 treatment is being considered
- includes those 70 and older who have a risk factor including obesity (BMI ≥30), dialysis or stage 5 kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min/1.73 m2), diabetes, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability of any severity, sickle cell disease, receiving active cancer treatment, solid organ or stem cell transplant recipients, or 50 and older if First Nations, Inuit, or Métis with any of those risk factors
- Underhoused or homeless
- People who are from First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities and individuals travelling into these communities for work
- Symptomatic elementary and secondary students and education staff who have received a PCR self-collection kit through their school
- People on admission/transfer to or from hospital or congregate living setting
- High-risk contacts and asymptomatic/symptomatic people in the context of confirmed or suspected outbreaks in high-risk settings, including hospitals, long-term care, retirement homes, other congregate living settings and institutions, and other settings as directed by the local public health unit
- Individuals, and one accompanying caregiver, with written prior approval for out-of-country medical services from the General Manager, OHIP
- Asymptomatic testing in hospital, long-term care, retirement homes and other congregate living settings and Institutions as per provincial guidance and/or Directives
If your occupation is such that you are deemed an essential worker, the NBRHC Assessment Centre will continue to offer testing.
If you have concerns about your symptoms, contact your doctor, health care provider or Telehealth for more information and guidance. If you develop severe symptoms requiring medical attention, such as shortness of breath or chest pain, call 911.
Please call 705-474-8600 ext. 4110 to book an appointment for testing.
We are experiencing a high volume of phone calls. Our staff are working 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., seven days a week to meet our community’s testing needs. We understand that this is frustrating. Thank you for your patience as our staff work to book appointments.
