Queensland introduces COVID-19 testing changes after six-hour waits
Staff at Queensland’s fever clinics have been doubled in a bid to drastically reduce huge queues at COVID-19 testing clinics. It comes as the Chief Health Officer explained the reason for the long waits.
QLD Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Staff at Queensland’s fever clinics have been doubled in a bid to drastically reduce huge queues of southern travellers getting tested for COVID-19.
Acting Premier Cameron Dick and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young provided an update this afternoon, saying Queensland Health now had 83 fever clinics across Queensland, with multiple private operations also back up and running after testing wait times blew out to six hours over the weekend.
Dr Young revealed why COVID testing queues blew out over the weekend, explaining that half of all testing was usually done by the private practice, which shut down over the Christmas period.
She said she had put all hospitals and health services on notice about the potential for “surges” in testing and each site had plans in place.
“There were a few clinics that had extensive waits but other clinics had no wait times at all,” she said.
“Some clinics are more popular than others.”
Mr Dick said staff were seeing queues for testing reduced and said test results were being turned around within 24 hours but warned Queenslanders they must remain vigilant.
“Complacency is the enemy, vigilance is our friend,” he said.
However his comments came as long queues with delays of several hours were being reported on the Sunshine Coast, with one visiting Melbourne man saying he waited at the Buderim Medical Centre Monday for three hours, with dozens still ahead of him in the queue..
Mr Dick said more clinics had opened on the Gold and Sunshine coasts as well as in Brisbane.
Dr Young said in addition to more clinics there had been an increase in opening hours as well as the number of staff at clinics. Staff at existing Queensland Health clinics had been doubled.
She said today the private sector had opened up all of their clinics and the Commonwealth had stepped up their clinics as well.
“There is a lot more testing capacity available across the state,” she said.
She encouraged people to check the Queensland Health’s website to check their local testing clinics, in light of some facilities being inundated.
The update comes after the state recorded five new cases of coronavirus overnight – all acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine.
Queensland now has 17 active cases of COVID-19.
Almost 6300 tests were conducted in Queensland in the past 24 hours to Monday morning.
Dr Young said there would be no change to Queensland’s border restrictions amid the ongoing outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne with low case numbers reported today.
But she warned authorities were on high alert.
Queenslanders have been urged to stay alert with what’s unfolding in NSW if they are planning on travelling there.
Victoria today reported four new cases of coronavirus, one of them in hotel quarantine while NSW recorded seven new cases but all were acquired overseas and detected in NSW hotel quarantine.
However two locally acquired cases in NSW were diagnosed after the 8pm cut-off Sunday night to be part of the 24-hour period and will be included in Tuesday’s numbers.
One is a man in his 40s who visited the BWS in Berala and the other a woman in her 40s who “has links” to the BWS and Woolworths in Berala, chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed.
The woman’s case remains under investigation.
More than 22,000 tests were conducted in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday but NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro urged people in Sydney to get tested, saying yesterday’s number was “far too low”.
OVERNIGHT
Queensland Health has been forced to open more fever clinics, put on more staff and extend testing hours amid growing fears that people who should be getting tested are being deterred by up to six-hour waits and kilometre-long queues.
Frustrated returning Queenslanders and Victorian travellers left testing queues on Sunday as wait times ballooned at southeast Queensland testing centres following advice urging anyone who had been in Victoria since December 21 to get tested.
People faced up to five-hour waits in the hot sun outside the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and more than three hours in stationary cars around Sullivan Nicolaides in Bowen Hills and QML Pathology in Murrarie.
One person, who had been queuing at Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside for six hours, said the clinic would be running 24 hours to get through the backlog, according to nurses on site.
In Mackay, people queued for more than three hours for COVID tests, while those on the Sunshine Coast were left on hold or had to call multiple times to register for testing, with no clinics in the region that do not require registration or a GP referral open on Sundays.
People in Cairns and Townsville faced similar lengthy delays.
A Victorian woman, who is visiting family in Queensland, said she waited over three hours at Murrarie before she “gave up and left”.
“There were still 100 people in front of us,” she said.
“We phoned Queensland Health and it’s only a recommendation at this stage so it’s not required so we’re going to wait until it’s mandated.
“Queenslanders are trying to do the right thing; there’s just not enough resources to help them.”
Teneriffe locals Anna Walch and Thomas Juzwin said they “barely moved” after two hours in line for the Bowen Hills testing clinic, while several other cars were seen pulling out of the line.
But Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said yesterday more clinics would be opened with more staff and extended hours to meet current demand.
Dr Young said the RBWH had worked with people who couldn’t be tested yesterday and had “sorted for them to be tested this morning”.
Queensland Health is working with Victorian health authorities to identify anyone who has been in close or casual contact with known cases and ensure they are tested.
“We’ve asked for manifests of all the flights from Victoria and we’ll be texting people (to tell them to get tested),” Dr Young said.
She said there was no need to extend any border restrictions to Melbourne or Victoria “at this stage”.
“But we’re keeping a very close eye on that,” Dr Young said.
Aged care facilities, disability accommodation facilities, prisons and hospitals have been instructed not to allow visits from anyone who has been in Victoria since December 21.
“Just so that we can keep our most vulnerable people safe,” Dr Young said.
Opposition health spokesman Ros Bates yesterday slammed the state government for “putting the fear in Queenslanders” by urging them to get tested just hours before clinics closed on Saturday.
Ms Bates said the GP-referral requirement at some clinics added unnecessary steps to the testing process and needed to be relaxed.
“Labor need to make sure that if they’re going to make these public health announcements that they provide the facilities,” she said.
“We can’t afford one person who may have COVID-19 turned away.”
Queensland Health had yesterday changed the status of a number of clinics previously listed as referral only to no referral necessary, including Ferny Hills, Everton Park and Everton Hills.
There were no new cases of COVID-19 in Queensland yesterday.
Despite ballooning queues on Saturday night, only 2742 tests were conducted compared to 3360 the day before and 5105 on New Year’s Day.
To see where to get tested for COVID-19 visit qld.gov.au
More Coverage
‘The biggest public health threat of our times’
Experts say instances of self harm linked to social media use are at virus epidemic levels, labelling it “the biggest public health threat of our times”.
Vaccination rates a sad casualty of Covid
The chaotic years of Covid are receding rapidly, but the latest legacy is the rise of ‘vaccine fatigue’ and it’s putting our children at risk, writes the Editor.