Windsor Regional Hospital is asking for patience Monday morning at its new COVID-19 Assessment Centre.
Workers were putting the finishing touches on the centre over the weekend. It will be housed in a segregated space at its 1030 Ouellette Ave. campus next to the hospital's Goyeau Street entrance.
Windsor Regional Hospital's Karen Riddell says, when the centre opens at 9 a.m. a test isn't guaranteed.
"We assess all of our patients for fever, respiratory symptoms including shortness of breath, cough and then we look at if they have any travel history," she says.
She tells AM800 News the screening process should be quick.
"In and out of the actual clinic area in about five to 10 minutes; if they require a little bit more examination or some testing it might be a little bit longer, but we're expecting that we'll be able put through 90 to 100 patients in an eight hour period if the need arises," says Riddell.
Riddell isn't sure what kind of turnout to expect.
"If you are presenting to the assessment centre and there are ong line-ups, just be respectful of our other patients that we're serving and try not to get in the way of the ambulances pulling into the emergency department," she says.
She says walk-ins are not encouraged — residents should call their family practitioner, the health unit or Telehealth and seek advice on whether they should head to the hospital for screening.
On Sunday, Windsor Regional also announced its Ouellette Avenue entrances will be closed and all access to the building will be from Goyeau Street until further notice.
There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex.