Queenslanders urged to resist panic buying rapid tests

Rapid Covid-19 tests could be cleared from shelves just as panicked shoppers decimated toilet paper stocks unless common sense is shown by Queenslanders, experts have warned.

Rapid Covid-19 tests could be cleared from shelves just as panicked shoppers decimated toilet paper stocks unless common sense is shown by Queenslanders, the pharmacy peak body has warned.

Travellers will be able to enter the state today with a negative result from a rapid antigen test (RAT) but availability of the critical screening tool will be volatile as daily infections continue to soar.

The Australian Pharmacy Guild stressed supplies will be limited in the coming weeks but said the state government will provide free RATs at testing facilities for those who are close contacts and need to be screened under a public health order.

The peak body’s national president, Trent Twomey, pleaded with Queenslanders to resist stockpiling and said supplies should improve in two weeks.

“It's kind of like the toilet paper issue,” he said.

“If everyone can just show a bit of common sense there'll be enough for everybody, but if everyone panics and goes out and buys more than they need, then we will definitely run out.”

Supply Aus has acquired two million rapid antigen test kits in preparation for the rush. Picture Lachie Millard

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the only Queenslanders who require a rapid test are those who have been defined as a close contact, who will need to test positive on day six of isolation, and those who are directed by a public health official.

“Once people get an appreciation about who needs a RAT and when, that will obviously influence the demand for these tests,” he said.

But one Brisbane-based supplier of rapid tests said the government should have been better prepared for the urgent demand.

Supply Aus chief executive Adam Williams told The Courier-Mail he warned authorities about the looming need for RATs but his concerns fell on deaf ears.

“I don't see how they couldn’t have shown a little more foresight,” he said.

“We were saying to them that everywhere else on the planet, they're offering rapid antigen tests as a solution to take the pressure off the healthcare system, so why can’t we offer that here?”

Adam Williams said the government should have ben better prepared. Picture Lachie Millard

Mr Williams said he “had to move mountains” to get his test approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, despite being sourced from China and already being in use in Europe and the US for more than a year with an accuracy of 96 per cent.

Supply Aus has two million tests it is selling online but has also committed to providing 50,000 units to Indigenous communities across the state.

Other locally based producers haven’t been as lucky – Anteotech is still waiting for TGA approval despite being used in Europe and Ellume won’t be able to supply tests to the Australian market until the middle of 2022.

Interstate arrivals from hot spots today will be able to prove they’re not infected with Covid through the result of a rapid test but they won’t be required to present the test as evidence.

They will instead by asked to declare in the electronic border pass that a negative result was returned in the previous 72 hours.

“Anyone who tries to exploit compliance measures by falsifying their own information, or not complying with the CHO directions, is putting their safety and the safety of others at risk,” Queensland Police Service said, with the threat of a $1378 fine or maximum penalty of six months prison.