LACK OF OPEN TESTING SITES ‘LUDICROUS’
GREATER Geelong’s coronavirus cases have reached record heights with the city’s only open Covid testing sites reaching capacity by 8am.
Residents have been struggling to access PCR testing sites, with private laboratories 4Cyte Pathology, ACL, Melbourne Pathology and Dorevitch Pathology moving to temporarily close sites across the state.
By 8am on Tuesday, Barwon Health confirmed its North Geelong site and ACL’s Torquay and Newtown sites were at capacity.
Geelong’s “ludicrous” Covid-19 testing site shortage was experienced first-hand by diving business owner John Rudge this week, who is yet to be tested three days after first noticing symptoms and cancelling a family holiday.
The Ceres-based commercial and scientific diver noticed his symptoms – a headache and a sniffle – on Sunday on his way to meet his family on holiday in Peterborough, quickly making the decision to head home and get tested rather than risk spreading the virus to his family and the small town.
He said he waited at a Belmont testing site for more than 2½ hours on Tuesday before he was told the site was closed. Mr Rudge said he’d heard the rest of the testing sites in town were already closed or at capacity, so decided to try again on Tuesday morning, thinking the site was just closed for the public holiday.
He said he got there at
4am and was waiting until 8am until he was told the site was closed.
Mr Rudge said police soon turned up to control traffic, eventually contacting site operator 4Cyte Pathology to discover the site was closed.
“It’s ludicrous,” Mr Rudge said. “There were some really angry people there this morning.
“How can you do the right thing when there’s no facilities?
“It’s just a disaster, and I feel that if you put all these rules and regulations in place, you’ve got to back it up with the ability to do it.”
Mr Rudge said he felt Geelong was being overrun by Covid, largely due to a lack of options for people to attend testing sites and a shortage of rapid antigen tests (RAT).
Community Care Chemist director Nick Salkeld said demand for a RAT was “extreme” with most pharmacies sold out.
“More stock unfortunately isn’t expected until the end of next week,” he said. “As soon as tests become available they sell within hours.”
Western Victorian Liberal MP Bev McArthur called on the state government to address the issue.
“Mr Rudge is required to get the test, so he can go to work,” Mrs McArthur said.
“He has turned up at this site because the state government’s DHS own website says it is open. Clearly it is not.”
But the federal government is under mounting pressure to provide free rapid antigen tests, with Labor Corangamite MP Libby Coker saying low income earners were “priced out” of testing.
“Prime Minister (Scott) Morrison’s decision not to supply free kits again highlights his government’s disregard for people on lower incomes,” she said.
“He tells us that offering free kits would ‘undercut’ business. This means many people are potentially going undiagnosed because they cannot afford the inflated costs of a rapid testing kit. That’s a disgrace.”
On Monday, Mr Morrison said he would not undercut businesses by making RATs free, insisting Australians needed to pay for their own tests.