MLA Worried About COVID-19 Assessment Centre Location

A Saint John MLA is concerned about the new location of the city’s COVID-19 community assessment centre.

The screening and testing centre was originally set up at the Saint John Exhibition Park on the city’s east side.

It soon moved to the North End Wellness Centre on Victoria Street, then to its current location at the HOPE Wellness Centre on Loch Lomond Road.

Gerry Lowe, the MLA for Saint John Harbour, said it is not a great location for many of the people he represents.

“It’s a $50, $60, $70 taxi fare to go out and come back, and it’s 10 or 12 miles outside of town,” said Lowe in an interview Friday.

Lowe said many of his constituents do not have their own vehicle and cannot afford the cab ride to get there.

The constant change of locations has been a source of confusion for many residents, he said.

“It’s hard to follow. I’m getting all kinds of calls from people that are saying ‘when are they going to come to town so we can get to there,'” said Lowe.

The MLA said he wants the Horizon Health Network to move the centre closer into town or to open a second location.

Jean Daigle, vice-president of community for Horizon, said they decided to relocate from exhibition park to the North End Wellness Centre to provide a more central, accessible location.

“The decision to move the site from the North End Wellness Centre to HOPE Wellness Centre was made based on feedback from the surrounding community,” said Daigle in an emailed statement.

“Horizon respected their input and moved the site to HOPE Wellness Centre to also support larger scale operation.”

Daigle said the current site has the capacity to better handle the number of people being referred for screening and testing, in addition to technology, equipment and staffing resources needed to operate the centre.

As for whether Horizon will open a second assessment centre in the Saint John region, no decisions have been made.

“Horizon is closely monitoring the number of referrals presenting to this centre, and this information will be used to determine whether additional sites will be put in place,” said Daigle.