{"id":59438,"date":"2020-04-17T10:43:56","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T14:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=59438"},"modified":"2020-04-17T10:43:56","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T14:43:56","slug":"team-braves-wind-snow-lineups-at-drive-thru-covid-19-test-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/local\/gta\/team-braves-wind-snow-lineups-at-drive-thru-covid-19-test-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Team braves wind, snow, lineups at drive-thru COVID-19 test centre"},"content":{"rendered":"
Standing beside a charcoal grey sedan, Marilyn DeMelo offers a warning to the young woman driving the car.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to be uncomfortable,” she says.<\/p>\n As a front-line nurse, DeMelo is clad nearly head-to-toe in personal protective equipment \u2014 plastic gloves, a surgical mask, a face shield, and a long blue covering over her scrubs \u2014 and holding a clear container housing a long nasal swab.<\/p>\n She instructs the woman to keep her mouth closed, and cover it with a tissue.<\/p>\n “Ready?” she asks, before sliding the swab up her patient’s nose so\u00a0it can\u00a0collect any possible traces of the new coronavirus.<\/p>\n The whole thing takes roughly five seconds. And after a small groan of discomfort, the woman drives away, leaving DeMelo rushing to pack up the sample on a small table nearby so it can be safely sent away for lab testing.<\/p>\n Then it’s on to the next one. And the next one. And the next one.<\/p>\n It’s close to 5 p.m. on a weekday afternoon as snow is starting to fall around the big white tent where DeMelo and a handful of other health-care workers are operating this drive-thru\u00a0COVID-19 testing centre near Etobicoke General Hospital.<\/p>\n On this day in April, they’ve spent hours working in winter-like conditions, with the temperature hovering around the freezing mark as wind keeps whipping through the tent while drivers stay warm in their cars.<\/p>\n Their efforts come as the\u00a0province has been pushing\u00a0to boost testing numbers, with these outdoor facilities offering an unprecedented way to test dozens of people\u00a0without them\u00a0ever setting foot in a hospital.<\/p>\n “We’re seeing everybody from young children to the elderly coming through,” says Donna-Lyn Moore, interim manager of the Etobicoke General Hospital COVID-19 assessment centre.<\/p>\n