Coronavirus: One nasal swab test to go, no cola and hold the fries

A popular new drive-through has opened in Bondi Beach but there is just one item on the menu: a nasal swab test.

A woman and her child stop for a test for COVID-19 at North Bondi as health authorities target hotspots. Picture: John Feder

A popular new drive-through has opened in Bondi Beach but there is just one item on the menu: a nasal swab test for COVID-19.

About 70 motorists pulled in for a quick coronavirus check-up after the clinic was set up on Monday in response to Waverley Council’s unenviable new-found status as home to both the highest number of confirmed contagion cases in the nation and the highest number of locally transmitted cases in NSW.

Like regular clinics, the drive-through test involved a nurse — from nearby St Vincent’s Hospital — gently inserting what looked like a long Q-tip into the patient’s nose, and twirling the swab to collect a sample.

Patients were told they would be notified of their result via text message and they needed to self-isolate until the results came back.

Veronica Smyth was among those to make the most of the new facility, explaining she was concerned she may have contracted the potentially fatal pathogen because she had been exercising on the popular beach almost every day since the outbreak.

“GPs weren’t testing many people so I thought I’d make use of this,” the 39-year-old told The Australian. “I do yoga on the beach daily so I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d been exposed.”

Though Bondi Beach remains the nation’s epicentre for the coronavirus outbreak with new cases identified almost every day, officials are increasingly concerned about emerging hotspots across NSW.

The Australian understands NSW Health will introduce several pop-up clinics across designated COVID-19 hotspots over the coming days, with Manly and Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches likely to be the next suburbs to benefit from a more targeted testing regime.

Royal Australian College of GPs president Harry Nespolon said a focus on hot spots, as well as pop-up clinics, would “ease the pressure” on GPs.

“We’ve been calling for broader testing since day one,” Dr Nespolon said. “Ideally, we would be casting the net as far … as possible and testing asymptomatic people as well.”