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(CNN) – More than 200 former residents of coronavirus quarantine facilities in Australia are urged to test for blood-borne diseases, including HIV, after authorities admitted they used the same blood test devices for multiple guests .
It is the latest in a series of COVID-19 setbacks to hit the country and the state of Victoria in particular. Previous breaches of quarantine hotels in Victoria sparked a COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne, causing the country’s second-largest city to spend months under strict lockdown.
In a statement on Monday, Victoria’s health agency, Safer Care Victoria, said it was contacting 243 people who had a blood glucose level test before August 20, as there was a risk of cross contamination. and blood-borne viruses, including HIV.
“The clinical risk of infection is low. However, for added peace of mind, access to confidential tests will be arranged,” Safer Care Victoria said in a statement.
Victoria has reported more than 20,000 coronavirus cases, including more than 800 deaths, making it Australia’s COVID-19 hotspot. The country has reported more than 27,400 cases and at least 905 deaths in total, according to Johns Hopkins University.
What went wrong with the tests?
Australia closed its borders to all non-citizens and residents in March, and any returning traveler must pay A $ 3,000 ($ 2,110) to spend two weeks in a state quarantine facility.
In the months since, thousands of travelers have passed through Australia’s quarantined hotels, but not all require a blood glucose level test.
These devices, which require a finger prick to obtain a drop of blood, are used to measure blood glucose levels in people with diabetes, but can also be used for pregnant women, people who have passed out, or people who generally do not They are fine.
Although the devices are designed for multiple uses by one person, they were used by multiple residents, Safer Care said. The needles can be changed between uses, but the devices can retain microscopic amounts of blood.
According to Safer Care, there is no risk that the devices have transmitted the coronavirus, as it is not transmitted through blood. But there is a “clinical low list” of the spread of hepatitis B and C and HIV.
“The clinical risk is low,” said Ann Maree Keenan, deputy executive director of Safer Care. “At this time, we will not be able to answer the many questions that people will have about how this happened. Rest assured that Safer Care Victoria is conducting a full review of how and why this device was started to be used.”
But experts told CNN affiliate 9News that the situation was worrying.
Australian Medical Association President Dr Omar Khorshid told 9News that the incident was another mistake in the country’s flawed hotel quarantine program. The investigation into the state’s quarantine scheme is still ongoing.
“It is further proof of the failure of that system,” he said.
A burst travel bubble
The test error also comes as Australia’s so-called New Zealand travel bubble, heralded as one of the first in the world, is thrown into some confusion.
Australia announced earlier this month that it would establish a “safe travel zone” with neighboring New Zealand, allowing people to travel without quarantine from New Zealand to two states: New South Wales and the Northern Territory. Border restrictions remain in effect within Australia.
The bubble is one-way: New Zealand, which has reported fewer than 2,000 COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths, still requires returning travelers to undergo a 14-day quarantine at a state facility at a cost of NZ $ 3,100 ( $ 2,040).
The problems with the policy occurred shortly after the first flights from New Zealand to Australia landed in Sydney on Friday.
Up to 65 New Zealanders were reported to have traveled to Melbourne, which is not included in the bubble, according to the Australian national broadcaster. ABC. Subsequently, authorities have contacted most of those believed to be in Melbourne and not in quarantine.
Other New Zealand travelers have flown to South Australia and Western Australia, both places that were not part of the bubble at the time, ABC reported. South Australia has now joined the bubble.
Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said he was “disappointed” and “frustrated” that travelers were able to leave Melbourne airport, according to CNN affiliate SBS. But in a statement, a federal government spokesperson said the bubble was working exactly as outlined.
“It is exactly the same arrangement, as if a traveler from any Australian state were to go to WA, they would be required to undergo a hotel quarantine,” the statement said.
There are many links between Australia and New Zealand, which under normal circumstances have some of the most open border rules in the world.
An estimated 685,000 New Zealand citizens live in Australia, while there are around 70,000 Australians living in New Zealand, according to government data.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Australia’s Covid-19 Quarantine Blood Testing Error Causes Hundreds of People to Get Tested for HIV.”
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