Agonising wait all in the line of duty
SIX-hour waits for Covid testing in Cairns have pushed frustrations to boiling point, with some Far North residents calling for action to fix the system.
In a 24-hour-period to Monday, 160 new cases were recorded in the Cairns and Hinterland region, making the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic 746.
Maitland Chitty from Cairns said he was absolutely sick of waiting at Cairns Hospital and would rather there be a better supply of rapid antigen tests.
“The government needs to fix it,” he said.
“I went to the Chemist Warehouse 24-hour medical centre. No one had it anywhere so I had to come here.”
Isabel Azcune from Cairns said she thought the line at the Portsmith drive-through centre was too long so she tried the hospital instead.
“The line was four blocks long so we turned around. This was the next best option,” she said.
Lori Magro, from Cairns City, said she was getting tested because she went to Gilligan’s on New Year’s Eve and has since developed symptoms. But the delays at Cairns Hospital were pushing her patience.
“I’m not too happy with it. It’s a hot sweaty day and I expected a better set-up,” she said.
“A lot of people are getting turned away and they are just trying to do the right thing.”
Many people at the lines were getting confused over the new testing requirements.
The new definition of a close contact is if you live with or have stayed in the same household of someone for more than four hours during a confirmed case’s infectious period.
Lucy Benson, from Kewarra Beach, said she did not understand the new contact tracing rules.
“If the person I worked with all day yesterday tests positive, can I not get tested because they weren’t at my house,” she said.
A Queensland Health spokesperson said PCR testing demand escalated quickly in 2021 – but with the expanded use of rapid antigen tests and the changes to definitions of close and casual contacts, the lines should ease.
“Only those with symptoms of Covid-19 need to get a PCR test,” the spokesperson said.
“If you’ve taken a RAT and receive a positive result, you should assume you have Covid-19 and should immediately isolate at home with all household members.”
If you test positive you must get a PCR test to confirm this.
Starting from January 5, test kits will be handed out to eligible close contacts at state health clinics requiring day-six testing before the release of quarantine.
“If you do not have access to a RAT test, we recommend you defer your day-6 PCR test until 4 January 2022 or shortly thereafter,” the spokesperson said.