Canada's hardest hit province limits virus testing as demand grows for swabs

FILE PHOTO: A medical worker assesses someone portraying the role of a patient as hospital staff prepare to receive people for coronavirus screening at a temporary assessment center at the Brewer hockey arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle/File Photo

OTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's most populous province of Ontario, which has reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases, on Saturday said it would limit testing for the respiratory illness until it can guarantee a more steady supply of swabs.

"There is in an increased global demand for viral nasopharyngeal swabs due to COVID-19," Public Health Ontario said on its Web site. "In an effort to ensure swabs are available where most needed, the Public Health Laboratory is limiting the volume of swabs supplied."