Montreal health agency unable to analyze COVID-19 tests in time, throws out thousands

When Lauren Aghabozorgi got news that she had been in contact with somebody with COVID-19 on Jan. 2, she immediately went into isolation.

But a couple of days later, she decided to confirm she had reason to quarantine. So sheheaded out for a PCR test at a nearby clinic in northern Montreal.

"As I was waiting for results, which I never got, I completed an isolation of about 10 days at home," she said.

Aghabozorgi attended online classes, but stayed inside. She didn't even go to get groceries, despite never getting results.

She got an email this week, roughly 14 days after thetest, telling her that the sample was tossed out because it couldn't be analyzed in time.

"I am not surprised," she said, but it left her disappointed in the health-care system.

The health agency in northern Montreal, CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'le-de-Montral, said in a news release Wednesday that laboratory limits were exceeded between Jan.3 and 7, resulting in the loss of 5,462 COVID-19 tests because they could not be analyzed within 72 hours.

'We sincerely apologize'

The agency says the sharp increase in demand for screenings at the start of the year, coupled withsuccessive equipment failures, were behind the mishap.

The samples were destroyed and the users concerned were informed, the release said.

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our users," the CIUSSS said.

At-risk patients are encouraged to get re-tested if they still have symptoms, but everybody else can take a rapid test if they have symptoms, the release said.

Aghabozorgi said she was still left wondering if she had COVID or not, and was unsure if she should get her booster shot. Quebec had previously encouraged people who had been infected to wait at least eight weeks before getting a vaccine dose.

People like Aghabozorgican go get the shot, according to Quebec Public Health.

The province said last week thatanyone who wishes to get a booster, including those who recently had COVID-19, should get one "as soon as possible" to have better protection against the Omicron variant.

Faced with tens of thousands of people seeking PCR tests on a daily basis and a dwindling quantityof screening supplies, Quebec public health announced on Jan. 5that it was putting an end to testing the general public for the coronavirus.

That's around the same timearound the same time Aghabozorgi went to get screened.