HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia's microbiology labs are busy processing COVID-19 tests and next week they'll see a surge.
Not from Nova Scotians, but from potentially thousands of Ontario tests that will be processed in Nova Scotia.
"We're looking at potentially providing a thousand tests a day for Ontario," said Dr. Todd Hatchette, chief of microbiology for the Nova Scotia Health Authority's central zone.
That's more than double the tests processed in Nova Scotia on Monday as Ontario struggles to battle its testing backlog amid a spike in cases there.
Final details are still being worked out but Hatchette expects samples to start arriving early next week.
"We certainly have the capacity now and we've developed a process in the lab so it's tested separate from the Nova Scotian samples and does not affect the Nova Scotian turnaround time at all," Hatchette said.
The offer comes after a conversation between premiers where Premier Doug Ford asked for help and Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil agreed.
Prince Edward Island is also sending Ontario 2,000 testing kits.
On Tuesday, Nova Scotia announced plans to increase testing capacity from 1,500 tests a day to 2,500 by November.
At the IWK, kids are doing a gargle test instead of a nasal swab and now anyone can book a test online instead of waiting on the phone.
When asked why Nova Scotia's labs weren't processing 2,500 tests already, Hatchette says: "we meet the demands we currently have and we're trying to increase our capacity."
Hatchette says that's important in case there is a second wave here.
