Queensland border testing policy change looming, but no relief yet
Queensland is set to accept at-home rapid antigen tests from people looking to cross the border from next year, as massive queues continue to spark COVID-19 testing delays across the country.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the government was hoping to revise its PCR testing requirement from January 1.
It was "awaiting advice" on how RATs would be delivered.
LIVE UPDATES: Queensland to accept home tests from January 1
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said COVID-19 cases will continue to grow. Supplied
Ms Palaszczuk pointed out Queensland was not the only state to demand a negative PCR test result ahead of travelling, pointing to Tasmania and South Australia.
A leading health expert has urged states to rethink mandatory PCR tests for travellers amid continuing frustration over long waiting times at clinics.
Former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth has called for a rethink on the issue.
He said he supported calls by federal chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly for some states to end mandatory PCR testing.
READ MORE: NSW bringing back QR check-ins, plan for free COVID-19 test kits
Cars wait at the testing centre in Maroubra, Sydney, today amid growing public frustration. Nine
Dr Coatsworth said long lines at test clinics risked spreading the virus.
"Travel PCRs need to be abandoned. They're putting people in queues who don't need to be there and stopping us from finding there and stopping us from finding the cases," Dr Coatsworth said.
But Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has dismissed suggestions that travellers bound for the Sunshine State are behind the huge queues overwhelming COVID-19 testing interstate.
Ms Palaszczuk said domestic travellers comprised 10 per cent of the queues in New South Wales.
READ MORE: FDA in USA authorises first pill to treat COVID-19
Demand at COVID-19 testing centres across Melbourne has increased in the lead-up to Christmas. Getty
"Our information is about 10 per cent of their tests are people wanting to come into Queensland," Ms Palaszczuk said yesterday, later saying the 10 per cent figure applied to all travellers, not just those heading to Queensland.
Ms Palaszczuk has hinted that the PCR test could be replaced by a rapid antigen test, but not until January 1 as she waits on health advice.
Surge for testing continues
The waiting times of up to hours for a PCR test are continuing this morning for the fourth straight day.
At the Ryde clinic in north-west Sydney this morning, there is a queue of cars stretching back one kilometre.
People there have been told to expect a two-hour wait.
There was a similar long waiting time at the testing clinic at Heffron Park in eastern Sydney.
In Victoria, the average wait time has now almost doubled to 71 minutes but many people are also waiting for hours.
READ MORE: UK records 100,000 COVID-19 cases in one day for the first time
Waiting times at the North Ryde testing clinic in Sydney have blown out to several hours. Nine
'Wildcard' variant behind demand
A testing boss admitted facilities have had to "scramble" to deal with testing surges due to Omicron but said capacity is building.
Histopath strategic operations director Greg Granger said increased demand was due to the rise of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, limitations on where testing sites could be placed, along with the need for a PCR test before domestic and international travel.
"Pathology are the gatekeepers for travel, both domestic and international. So we've had to navigate the space. When this is combined with an outbreak, something as serious as Omicron, that creates added complexity," he said.
READ MORE: Israel begins fourth COVID-19 dose vaccine rollout for people 60 and over as Omicron cases surge
There are growing calls for rapid antigen testing to be expanded to ease the strain on clinics. The Sydney Morning Herald
"Omicron was a wildcard we couldn't have expected. We had clues with Delta as it was spreading overseas but Omicron hit the whole world so quickly and so fast, we're had to scramble quickly.
"This is why we're seeing the lines. "
Mr Granger said staffing had been maximised, but the hot weather had also been contributing to delays as workers wearing PPE in high temperatures needed breaks from the harsh conditions.
NSW plan to ease testing queues
Meanwhile, the NSW Government is set to provide free rapid antigen testing kits for residents in an attempt to ease long waiting times for PCR tests.
Officials are working to bulk buy home testing kits which would be posted out to every NSW resident to ease the pressure on testing clinics.
Premier Dominic Perrottet will make an announcement later today on a range of new measures.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
