Rashay’s co-founder Rami Ykmour hands out hundreds of free Rapid Antigen Tests in Sydney

The owner of the restaurant chain criticised for refusing to open until unvaccinated customers were allowed in has turned heads again.

Rashay’s co-founder Rami Ykmour has turned heads in Sydney this week, handing out up to a thousand free rapid antigen tests.

Aussies have been up in arms searching for the single-use items as the latest boom in cases sweeps the nation.

Scott Morrison’s initial move to allow retailers to sell RAT tests, as opposed to offering them for free, has seen a massive spike in prices, with some readers reporting seeing them going for as high as $35 on UberEats.

Mr Ykmour, who was publicly criticised in 2021 for refusing to open doors to his restaurants until unvaccinated customers were allowed in, spent his day under the hot sun dressed in full PPE gear handing out tests to cars lining up at clinics.

“Staff aren‘t showing up to work, businesses are suffering. If it means giving out rapid tests to help people get back to life. I will do this all day,” he said. “I support parents that need to support their family and earn an income.”

Mr Ykmour said he had ordered in bulk for his restaurants and had “about 1000 left to give away” in Homebush.

“Hopefully that helps out the local community for at least the next couple of hours,” he said.

The videos posted to TikTok have attracted almost 700,000 views in 24 hours.

Mr Ykmour spent his day under the hot sun dressed in full PPE gear handing out tests to cars lining up at clinics.

Rashays co-founder Rami Ykmour has turned heads in Sydney this week, handing out up to a thousand free rapid antigen tests.

Scott Huntsman, the CEO of All-Cast PPE, told news.com.au that a “race to the bottom” is now on, claiming some retailers are driving up demand by drip-feeding the tests onto shelves to create the illusion that there are none available — resulting in a surge in black market tests and skyrocketing prices.

He also said Australians who are able to get the tests are making a common mistake that renders them useless.

“There really isn’t a shortage of tests,” he said. “There’s some issues with getting freight and with the recent media attention about price gouging, we’re also seeing now the factories reflect on that and raising the price on us.”

He said there only just over a dozen tests approved for use in Australia by the TGA and the bulk of them are made in China.

Mr Huntsman claims some retailers he has spoken to have openly admitted they’re being slow to purchase tests or place them on shelves to give the appearance of short supply — in order to drive up demand and prices.

“One convenience store owner who purchased from us told us he was going to buy a carton of 288 tests, and he was like ‘I’ll only put half of them out and then everybody will buy them’. That was his plan,” he said. “I was like ‘why would you do that?’”

On Tuesday, the ACCC announced an investigation into alleged price-gouging on rapid antigen tests — saying it is aware of significant public concern.

The watchdog says is currently contacting suppliers and monitoring the situation very closely.

It will be examining claims that the current pricing levels of rapid antigen tests are due to challenges in obtaining supply of those tests.

“We are seeking information from suppliers about their costs and the current pricing of rapid antigen tests. We are also asking them about their current stock levels, and the amounts on order, and about their expectations about when additional tests may become readily available to consumers,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

“We are also contacting major retailers and pharmacies seeking similar information and reminding them that they need to be able to substantiate any claims they make to consumers about the reason for higher prices.”

- with Ben Graham

Originally published as Rashay’s co-founder Rami Ykmour hands out hundreds of free Rapid Antigen Tests in Sydney