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All five million Sydney residents could be tested for coronavirus up to THREE TIMES in an attempt to stop a widespread outbreak of the bug
- All Sydneysiders tested up to three times for the coronavirus under a new plan
- The prime minister said more evidence is needed before the COVID-19 blockade can ease
- Coronavirus Testing Would Expand Beyond Critical Points for Disease Detection in NSW
- The leading pathology provider said everyone in the city “will be tested and retested.”
- The state reported six new confirmed cases Tuesday as its death toll rose to 31
- Learn more about how to help people affected by COVID
All five million Sydney residents could be tested for the coronavirus up to three times under a new test blitz that will allow the blockage to be alleviated.
The head of the pathology service provider at San Vicente Hospital said such a comprehensive testing regimen was the only way to stay on top of COVID-19 and allow the blocking measures to be lifted.
“There is an inevitability to any virus, particularly a new virus,” SydPath chief operating officer Greg Granger told the Sydney Morning Herald. You can escape from us at any time.
“Everyone in Sydney will finally be screened and retested, and probably retested again.
In the photo: a transit coronavirus testing clinic in Bondi, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, on April 7. All Sydney residents could be tested for the coronavirus under plans to expand the tests beyond the critical detection points of the disease.
The next step in testing would begin Wednesday, when New South Wales director of health Dr. Kerry Chant was scheduled to meet with pathology providers to assess the state’s testing capacity in hopes of expanding who is eligible for a test.
Currently, testing was restricted to those who had been diagnosed with symptoms by a GP, people who had been in contact with confirmed carriers, or those at critical points of the disease, such as Bondi in the eastern suburbs of the city. and Macquarie Park in the north. West.
“If we have enough test kits, swabs, and collection points, we will announce that the test is open to anyone with symptoms who wants a COVID test,” Dr. Chant told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week called for broader tests to be implemented before social distancing restrictions can be relaxed.
SydPath’s Mr. Granger said that despite recent drops in the infection rate, even isolated social gatherings can lead to new outbreaks of the disease.
“We don’t want what happened in Tasmania to happen to us.”
In the photo: cars lined up in Bondi on April 7 for a test drive clinic. The New South Wales medical director is looking to expand the tests to include even those with mild symptoms.
Hospital staff conducted a test at a COVID-19 clinic in Adelaide on March 31. A leading pathology provider said everyone in Sydney will have to ‘get tested and retested and probably retested again’
Officials were forced to close Burnie Northwest Regional Hospital in the northwest state after a group of coronavirus cases emerged at the hospital and forced 1,200 health workers to isolate themselves.
Granger said the testing capacity had expanded significantly since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia, when it took up to seven days for the COVID-19 test result to be confirmed.
NSW reported six new cases Tuesday, bringing its total to 2,969, with 21 people in intensive care, after conducting more than 171,000 tests.
The death toll in the state also increased to 31.
Operator Anglicare Sydney said a 92-year-old woman died Tuesday morning at her Newmarch House nursing home in Caddens, in the far west of Sydney.
In a statement, the organization said the woman had tested positive for COVID-19 and also had multiple health problems, although the cause of death has not yet been formally determined.
Newmarch House is home to approximately 100 people with 28 residents and 14 employees infected with the coronavirus. Strict isolation protocols have been established.
A worker with symptoms entered Newmarch House on six consecutive days, prompting Dr. Chant to warn that even those with mild symptoms should avoid work and be tested.
The elderly woman is the third person at the center to die after testing positive for the virus after the death of two men, 93 and 94 years old.
Meanwhile, a health worker at St George’s Hospital in south Sydney tested positive for the virus, confirms the local health district in south-east Sydney.
“There is no continued risk to patients or staff and there has been no impact on hospital services,” a district health spokeswoman said in a statement.
The health worker showed up at a COVID-19 clinic to perform tests at the first sign of symptoms, and all close contacts have been identified and isolated, she said.
