Rapid tests the way forward

“Rapid antigen testing is the way that Victorians can have confidence as they go about living with COVID and making sure that they do their bit to keep the pressure off our hard working hospitals," Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said on Wednesday.

“We would much prefer to have a national approach to what is a national, indeed an international, supply issue, but failing that as per usual, the states have had to step up over the course of this pandemic and fill the gap left.“

The first of the deliveries will arrive this week, with more arriving in the weeks soon after, however, the distribution of the tests is still being worked out.

Premier Daniel Andrews, who is on leave, was in attendance at the national cabinet meeting.

Victoria is already handing out free rapid tests in some circumstances, including to students and staff exposed at schools.

There has been a nationwide shortage of the RATs at supermarkets and pharmacies amid soaring infection numbers, the announcement of the Federal Government expected to relieve Australians of the $15 to $20 RAT kit price tag.

Victoria has purchased 34 million rapid tests allowing people to take their own nasal swab and find out immediately if they have Covid-19.

A Federal Government injection of $375 million, for 50 million of the kits, follows on from an earlier purchase of 10 million RAT kits.

Victoria recorded 5137 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, another new record, while the NSW tally reached 12,226.

Travellers required to get tests to leave Victoria were in part behind the testing overload.

“Take Boxing Day, for instance, over 40 per cent of the tests that were done at PCR state locations were for interstate travel,” Mr Foley said.

People who are getting a PCR test for travel purposes are encouraged to get tested after 12pm when the demand is lower.

Hospitalisations have jumped from Tuesday, too, from 361 to 397, bringing the seven-day average to 379.