‘Enormous’ pressure on COVID testing clinics as Hazzard calls for review of travel tests

The NSW Health Minister has asked the federal government to consider removing COVID-19 test requirements for international arrivals, as he continues to blame “tourism testing” for the pressure on the state’s pathology labs.

There were 557 COVID-19 patients in NSW hospitals on Tuesday, including 60 in intensive care, and an additional 6062 cases reported. Testing clinics have braced for another round of public holiday queues, with healthcare worker isolation rules eased on Monday night to relieve some pressure on the stretched system.

Mr Hazzard said he had asked the federal government and NSW Health to review whether international arrivals needed to have two PCR tests in their first week in the state.

“Obviously everything we’ve done in the last two years in relation to this pandemic has been a challenge of balancing risks,” he said. “And the risks here are we have a lot of people now who are positive.”

The Health Minister also implored Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk “in the strongest possible terms” to drop her state’s PCR testing requirements for interstate travellers before January 1, when she is considering moving state arrivals to conducting rapid tests instead.

“That may not seem like a lot of days [away] for her, but it is a lot of days here in NSW for our residents who are trying to get to Queensland,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“It’s putting incredible pressure on the clinical needs of testing here in NSW for people who really need to know whether they are or they are not positive to the current virus.”

With long delays also occurring in the sunshine state, Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath on Tuesday announced that, on the advice of Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, its day five PCR test for interstate travellers would be immediately removed.

“Anyone who is waiting in lines now for their day five tests can leave,” she said. The border pass system is yet to be updated online and she asked people to tick that they commit to having a day five test. However, it won’t actually be required.

There was one new death reported in NSW on Tuesday: a man in his 80s who was not vaccinated and died at Nepean Hospital.

The number of people in hospital has risen by 37, up from 520 on Monday, and ICU admissions have increased by five patients.

Hundreds of people positive for COVID given ‘premature’ negative results

Meanwhile, SydPath confirmed that more than half of the 950 people tested from December 22 to 24 who were sent a text message indicating they had a negative result before their “true result” had actually been determined, were actually positive for COVID-19.

“As of last night [Monday night], all of these people received their accurate test results, 486 of whom were confirmed as being COVID positive,” the Sydney St Vincent’s pathology said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Once again, we are sincerely sorry for this error and acknowledge the significant impact it has had on those involved.”

SydPath said it had recently moved from an automated system to a manual system to expedite the release of negative results, “in order to contend with the major increase in volume of tests”.

“Unfortunately during this manual process a simple data processing error was made which led to the wrong test results being released. We have reverted to our automated systems to ensure this type of error cannot happen again,” the pathology service said.

Despite SydPath saying people affected would receive their correct result by Monday night, on Tuesday morning Michael Hyams was still waiting for his 14-year-old daughter’s true result.

Mr Hyams said he was relieved when it came back negative on Saturday, but after learning on Monday that the result could have been incorrect, the family is again on edge.

“Because we are in a small apartment, there is no way to isolate from each other,” he said.

Although his daughter’s rapid tests have been negative, other children attending the same youth camp where she was potentially exposed received positive results. Mr Hyams believed all at the camp were still waiting for their PCR results.

The COVID-19 testing clinic at Roselands Shopping Centre on Tuesday.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The mistake followed 400 COVID-positive people who were swabbed on December 22 and 23 being incorrectly advised they were negative.

A total of 93,581 tests were processed in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday night in NSW, down from 97,241 the previous day.

Asked why the pathology system had not crumbled when the state was processing more than 150,000 tests a day during Sydney’s Delta outbreak, Mr Hazzard said “the system was exhausted” with staff needing to take breaks over the holidays.

NSW Health’s Dr Christine Selvey said testing in the state was currently “under enormous pressure”.

“The only people getting a PCR (nose and throat swab) should be those who have COVID-19 symptoms; live in a household with a confirmed COVID-19-positive case; or have been in a venue which NSW Health has advised there has been high transmission,” she said.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told 2GB on Tuesday that he was “not going to join the State of Origin between NSW and Queensland” but it was “incumbent” upon the states to use rapid antigen tests (RATs) wherever possible.

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