Qld border: Expensive Covid-19 PCR test to remain mandatory

An expensive Covid-19 test will be mandatory for anyone entering Queensland after the Health Minister refused to budge.

Anyone entering Queensland from mid-December will have no choice but to get an expensive Covid-19 test after Health Minister Yvette D’Ath refused to budge, saying whether or not someone could afford the test shouldn’t trump the health response.

The Queensland Government has been criticised for forcing people to get a PCR test, which would cost from $145 per person at a private pathology clinic, when borders reopen despite its own road map stating a “TGA-approved test” would be enough.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has already approved about 12 different brands of rapid antigen test kits, which cost from $7 to $20 at chemists.

Acting Chief Health Officer Peter Aitken said the widespread use of rapid antigen tests would be best when there was a high number of Covid-19 cases in the community, as the do-it-yourself kits tended to be less sensitive than the traditional swab.

“Queensland currently has four active cases – we want to identify every case and not miss 30 per cent, so we will continue to use PCR tests at this stage,” Dr Aitken said.

“(With rapid antigen tests) you miss the early stages of the disease and the later stages of disease, which means you don’t detect Covid in people until they are much further into disease.”

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath yesterday. Picture: Jerad Williams

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said yesterday it would be irresponsible for the Government to simply allow all travellers to go straight out into the community once the 80 per cent vaccination mark was reached, so the need for testing would remain.

“We don’t want to swap tests just because one might be cheaper,” Ms D’Ath said.

She then attempted to push responsibility for the high cost of the gold-standard PCR test onto the Commonwealth, claiming the federal government could just subsidise it with Medicare.

But federal Health Minister Greg Hunt’s office hit back, outlining that under an agreement signed early on in the pandemic Queensland had agreed to split the cost of Covid-19 testing for people without symptoms.

“The Commonwealth has spent over $1.87 billion on pathology testing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we would welcome Queensland announcing their investment into pathology,” a spokesman said.

“The Commonwealth funds 100 per cent per cent of Medicare funded tests and 50 per cent of state-based tests.

“It is surprise that Queensland is seeking to walk away from their responsibilities and their own decision, reducing their own expenditure on Covid safety.”

Queensland recorded no new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, with 84.5 per cent of adults now protected with at least one dose of the vaccine while 73.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Originally published as Qld border: Expensive Covid-19 PCR test to remain mandatory