BARRIE, ONT. -- More locations will soon be able to offer COVID-19 testing.

The local health unit says physicians at walk-in clinics will be able to administer the swab test to patients when they reopen.

Testing for the virus in Simcoe Muskoka has more than doubled since the health unit adopted a new directive not to turn anyone away.

The lineups of people outside the assessment centre on Huronia Road in Barrie have become a common sight.

Since Monday, the centre has been testing about 200 people a day, compared to the 70 or 80 people it was testing before Premier Doug Ford urged everyone to get tested.

A mobile unit is used to test residents who can't get to the centre, like people in shelters or long-term care homes.

The challenge will soon become keeping up with testing numbers at assessment centres as health personnel get back to operating rooms and walk-in clinics.

Still, the local health unit is working to have testing offered at more locations across the region.