B.C. sees record number of COVID-19 tests as restrictions lift
CBC
The province has seen a record number of COVID-19 tests being administered in the last week alone, with this Wednesday's record-breaking 18,007 tests exceeding Tuesday's previous record of 15,890 tests.
But the spike in COVID-19 testing does not necessarily mean an increase in coronavirus transmission, doctors say.
"I think it is expected ... The increased [social] interactions are undoubtedly leading to dissemination of just common respiratory viruses for sure," said Dr. Bradley Quon, a respirologist at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver and associate professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia.
This time last year, around 5,000 COVID-19 tests were being administered.
With restaurants opening up to more diners, people gathering indoors and in-person classes resuming, Quon says the rise of other concerns is inevitable.
"We're seeing like [a] record number of patients in the hospital. Part of that is being driven by COVID ... [and] seeing more you know hospitalizations likely related to other viruses where we did not see them at all during the pandemic, when [people] were kind of isolating themselves," he said.
Dr. Laura Sauvé, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at B.C. Children's Hospital, echoes Quon.
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