Ontario’s COVID-19 assessment centres will soon be appointment only as the province works to eliminate the large lines that have led to some people waiting hours just to get a swab and others being turned away entirely.

Premier Doug Ford announced today that starting Tuesday, all assessment centres will move to appointment-based testing to allow the sites to "make the necessary adjustments to winterize their operations."

"As the weather beings to worsen, we can't have people waiting in the cold, waiting in the rain and snow to get a test," Ford said at Queen’s Park on Friday afternoon. "So today we are announcing new changes to help the assessment centres get ready for winter."

As of Sunday, walk-ins will no longer be accepted at the province's 153 testing centres but the "vast majority" of assessment centres that already offer testing by appointment will continue to operate as usual on Sunday and Monday, Ford said.

About 20 per cent of the assessment centres located in the Toronto area currently offer testing by appointment.

Ford noted that anyone who currently has an appointment scheduled in the coming days will be tested.

Select pharmacies also offer testing on an appointment basis but only for asymptomatic individuals who are members of priority groups.

Up to 80 pharmacies will continue to offer testing by appointment during the transition with more pharmacies coming online soon, the premier added.

"These changes are absolutely necessary. Being able to make an appointment, it gives certainly. It will make sure folks don't have to wait outside for hours," Ford said. "It will help us ensure we can get your results back sooner."

He said while the province is trying to make the transition as "smooth as possible," he asked Ontarians to be "be patient."

"It might take a few days to schedule your tests at the start," Ford said.

The province conducted nearly 41,000 individual tests on Thursday and has vowed to increase its capacity in the coming weeks so that it can conduct at least 50,000 individual tests on a daily basis.