Testing is available for all who need it but not everyone requires a test. If you develop symptoms, use the BC COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool to help determine if you need further assessment or testing for COVID-19. You can complete this assessment for yourself, or on behalf of someone else, if they are unable to.
You can get a COVID-19 test from a physician, nurse practitioner, urgent and primary care centre or at a COVID-19 test collection centre. You can call 8-1-1 to find testing near you. Please visit an emergency department if you are experiencing health conditions that require urgent and emergency care.
Vancouver Coastal Health test collection centres and urgent and primary care centres (UPCC) that offer testing and assessment are listed below. Please be prepared to wait in line. Test collection centres may have faster wait times. To find the wait times for some of our sites, please visit our wait-times website.
- Parking lot, 4875 Heather Street, Vancouver, BC (map)
- Please do enter Honoria Conway
- 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., seven days a week
- Ages 4+
- Drive-up and walk in available
- No appointment necessary
- 1155 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC (map)
- Entrance on 7th Ave. between Keith and Glen Drive, north parking lot #865
- No access through Vancouver Community College
- 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., seven days a week
- Ages 4+; saline (gargle) test available for children
- No appointment necessary
- 429 Alexander St., Vancouver, BC (map)
- 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday (closed between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.)
- No appointment necessary
City Centre UPCC
- 1290 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC (map)
- 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, Sunday
- Ages 12+
- No appointment necessary
- 1145 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC (map)
- Monday to Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- All ages
- Please call 604-216-3138 for all COVID-19 related inquiries - appointments only at this time (no walk-ins)
- 2300 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC (map)
- Parking lot is behind the Centennial Theatre
- 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., seven days a week
- Ages 4+; saline (gargle) test available for children
- No appointment necessary
- 221 West Esplanade, Suite 200, 2nd floor, North Vancouver, BC (map)
- 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday
- All ages
- No appointment necessary
- Parking lot of Richmond Tennis Club, 6280 Gilbert Road., Richmond, BC (map)
- 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., seven days a week
- Ages 4+ ; saline (gargle) test available for children
- No appointment necessary
For rural locations not listed above, please call your family doctor for guidance on testing locations or visit your nearest hospital.
Rural sites with saline (gargle) test available for children:
- Sechelt - Respiratory Assessment Centre
- Powell River – PRGH ED
- Bella Bella – RW Large Hospital
- Bella Coola – Bella Coola General Hospital
- Squamish - Respiratory Assessment Centre
- Pemberton – Pemberton Health Centre
- Whistler – Whistler Health Care Centre
A full list of assessment and test collection centres in the province can be found by clicking on the image or links below.
COVID-19 testing for childrenVisit our page on COVID-19 assessment and testing of children to learn more about how children are tested and what you can do to prepare for a test.
For answers to frequently asked questions, click "+" on the questions below.
Anyone with cold, influenza or COVID-like symptoms can now be assessed. Individuals in the following groups should be prioritized for testing:
Residents and staff of long-term care facilities
Individuals requiring admission to hospital or likely to be admitted, such as pregnant individuals near-term, patients on hemodialysis, or cancer patients receiving radiation or chemotherapy.
Health-care workers
Contacts of a known case of COVID-19
Travellers who in the past 14 days returned to BC from outside Canada, or from an area with higher infection rates within Canada
Residents of remote, isolated, or Indigenous communities
People living in congregate settings such as work-camps, correctional facilities, shelters, group homes, assisted living and seniors' residences
People who are homeless or have unstable housing
Essential service providers, such as first responders
If you need help determining if you need further assessment or testing, visit the BC COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool or speak with your health-care provider. To find out where you can get tested in the province, visit the collection centre finder:
COVID-19 testing is not recommended for individuals without symptoms.
If you were tested for COVID-19, you will be sent home to self-isolate until the results are provided to you. Visit the self-isolate page for details.
If your result is positive for COVID-19, you will be contacted by Public Health.
If you have not been contacted, you can get your negative results by text, online at myehealth.ca or by calling the BCCDC COVID-19 Negative Results line at 1-833-707-2792. For more information on test results, please visit bccdc.ca's test results information.
If you are sick but test negative for COVID-19, stay home until your symptoms resolve and you are well enough to return to your usual activities.
Even if you have tested negative, there may be situations where you still have to self-isolate for 14 days:
Those exposed to a case of COVID-19 must self-isolate for 14 days from your last contact with a case of COVID-19 even if you test negative.
International travellers returning to Canada must continue self-isolate for 14 days from the day you landed back in Canada even if you test negative.
Health care providers check with your employer about self-isolation following a negative test and report any symptoms. Workplaces may have different return to work policies after a negative COVID-19 test.
If you develop new symptoms following a negative test, seek advice from your physician. You may need to get tested again.
Guidelines for COVID-19 testing in BC are based on changing epidemiology, testing capacity, and our evolving understanding of test sensitivity in clinical settings.
COVID-19 testing of people without symptoms is not publicly funded for the purpose of travel, work or school and will not be provided at COVID-19 Assessment Centres. Testing is not recommended for individuals without symptoms.
Visit our assessment for travel page for more information.
Other questions?
Visit our FAQ section.