Coronavirus lab testing sites to grow as cases rise
As coronavirus cases rise across the country, plans to escalate testing for the disease in Victoria will come into effect from next week when laboratories are rolled out across the state.
VIC News
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Coronavirus testing laboratories will be rolled out across Victoria as early as next week in a major step toward minimising the risk of a pandemic.
Plans for the escalation of testing come as Victorian authorities on Wednesday confirmed the state’s 10th COVID-19 case, with 41 cases now recorded in Australia.
The Victorian man in his 30s is recovering in isolation at home after becoming unwell on Sunday, four days after returning from Iran.
A further 63 people have been under daily monitoring by the Department of Health because they were in close contact with confirmed cases either from Victoria or interstate.
In Sydney, 11 nursing home residents have been placed in isolation and the death of a 95-year-old woman is being investigated after it was revealed a staff member tested positive for coronavirus.
The nurse from Dorothy Henderson Lodge was diagnosed with coronavirus after becoming unwell on February 23, though she had not travelled overseas. It is not known how she became infected.
As the global toll on Wednesday approached 3200 deaths from 93,126 confirmed cases, World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revised COVID-19’s mortality rate to about 3.4 per cent of cases.
More than 2000 Victorians have now been cleared of having COVID-19, with more than 2300 tests performed at the specialist Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory since it gained an exemption to perform the new test.
But with it taking more than a day to transport blood samples from some suburbs to Parkville — and potentially days from regional areas — VIDRL director Dr Mike Catton said it was vital other labs were brought online.
“I’d be hoping we have a network of testing laboratories operating, at least here, within the coming week,” Dr Catton said.
“There are well-advanced discussions in Victoria about bringing onstream other diagnostic laboratories in the major hospitals and the major private providers.
“This is a completely new germ that we only decided was a global threat in the last part of January.
“It is now only the first week of March and in the weeks ahead we will have hospitals and community labs testing as well. This has never been done before, it is an amazing achievement.”
Australian Medical Association Victorian president Prof Julian Rait said doctors were desperate to speed up the testing process.
“As the numbers of suspected cases rise we will need much greater testing capacity,” Prof Rait said.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said part of the $6 million awarded to VIDRL this week for COVID-19 research was focused on expanding its testing capabilities.
“We are working closely with Commonwealth agencies, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the National Association of Testing Authorities to widen testing capacity to both hospital and primary pathology laboratories in order to support our health sector to rapidly test patients for COVID-19,” Ms Mikakos said.
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