THE first delivery of rapid antigen tests (RATs) has been received from the Victorian Government, with 3 million RATs to be distributed to key workforces this week who have been identified as essential workforces and sensitive settings.
Essential workers in the healthcare system, emergency services and those working in disability and aged care services will be the first to receive the supplies as part of the initial roll-out.
By prioritising health care workers, it is hoped this will allow for key staff to return to work faster, as the health care system has been battling crippling pressure from staff shortages over the past few weeks.
Swan Hill District Health were able to confirm that they had received a supply of RATs to go towards supporting their workforce, but also stated that RATs were still in short supply and were in need of further deliveries going forward.
Victorians who have pre-existing conditions which make them more susceptible to severe illnesses will also be prioritised in the roll-out, ensuring diagnosis and care for these people as fast as possible.
Community and multi-faith organisations have also been distributing free RATs to many Victorians as part of their existing care and support groups, this is in addition to over 400,000 RATs being distributed at more than 60 Victorian PCR testing centres last week.
The Daniel Andrews government has promised the distribution of RATs to key workforces.
“Thanks to our bulk order of tests, Victorians will soon be able to reliably obtain a free RAT, as more tests progressively arrive we will continue to roll them out to those who need them,” he said.
RAT supplies have been a prevalent topic over the past few weeks, as they became the favoured method of confirming a positive COVID case, however there have been limited supplies statewide for Victorians to test themselves.
Supplies across the state were exhausted as retailers had their shelves stripped clean by desperate customers trying to get their hands on a RAT to try and avoid massive queues waiting in line for a PCR.
With long waits in line for a PCR test, as well as some people waiting as long as 10 days for their results, businesses have been severely affected by staff shortages. Supermarkets, in particular, have been heavily impacted by the decline in delivery drivers.
Victoria was the first state to include positive RAT confirmations as part of their daily cases report, with more than 140,000 Victorians reporting a positive result since the system opened on Friday January 7.
Mr Andrews also reminded Victorians that those who are eligible for their booster shot to roll up their sleeves, as that is the most important step you can take to protect yourselves from contracting COVID.
“As we continue to test, there’s nothing more important than getting your third dose, it will not only give you better protection against COVID but also significantly slow transmission,” he said.
