BC Has 1.3M COVID-19 Tests Sitting In A Warehouse Despite Its Top Doctor Calling It A 'Myth'

It has been confirmed that there are more than one million unused rapid tests sitting in a warehouse in B.C., even though Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry assured the public that it was an "urban myth."

In a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Henry responded to a question about the rumour that there were millions of rapid tests located in a warehouse somewhere. She dismissed the rumour right away.

"That's an urban myth, that there are millions of rapid tests in a warehouse somewhere," Dr. Henry said.

She also said that they have been available to long-term care facilities for months, and they have been used by them.

She added that over 100,000 rapid tests are being distributed, as of last week, to long-term care homes. They are used for visitors to get tested before coming into the homes.

There might not be millions stored away, but there are 1,342,150 tests in a warehouse, according to the Ministry of Health in a statement to CTV News.

In the statement, they added that even more tests were on the way, coming from the federal government. They estimated 17 million tests that are being sent to the province.

This comes after there have been reports of people waiting for hours in line to get access to tests.

B.C. recently reached its capacity for COVID-19 testing, and triage has had to happen at some testing centres.

Due to the lack of tests, Dr. Henry said previously at a press conference that if you have mild symptoms you may not even need to get a test, but instead assume you are positive.