Testing Backlog Linked to Shortage of Chemicals Needed for CCP Virus Test

Regions across Canada are ramping up efforts to identify people with the CCP virus but some labs are facing a backlog due to diminishing supplies of essential chemicals needed for tests.

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam listens to questions at a press conference on COVID-19 at West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on March 24, 2020. Officials are warning equipment shortfalls, lack of screening and outbreaks in confined settings are placing Canada's most vulnerable residents at growing risk of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemics. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Regions across Canada are ramping up efforts to identify people with the CCP virus but some labs are facing a backlog due to diminishing supplies of essential chemicals needed for tests.

“We all would want more tests,” Canada’s chief public officer Dr. Theresa Tam said on Tuesday.