Covid test Toowoomba: Health department to close drive-through sites

Darling Downs Health has made a call on Covid testing across Toowoomba, as the region transitions to “new ways of living with the virus”. Here’s how it will affect you.

More than two years after they first opened, Darling Downs Health has announced it will clos its Covid-19 testing sites early next month.

In a statement on Monday, it was revealed the Baillie Henderson site would close at 4pm on September 2.

That site has conducted more than 170,00 tests since it opened on March 16, 2020.

A total of 247,000 tests have been processed across all Darling Downs Health testing sites.

The Health Emergency Operation Centre’s Michelle Forrest said the testing sites were closing because the response to the virus was now changing.

“That large scale testing was incredibly effective, but it has served its time. During 2020 and up until December 2021, suppression of Covid-19 was key to ensuring the safety of people in the community, and testing sites like ours really enabled that,” Ms Forrest said

“The response to the virus will continue to change, especially as people choose to use rapid antigen tests themselves and private pathology capability increases. The decision to close the service is another step in our transition to new ways of living with the virus.”

Following the closure of the site, residents who need to test for Covid-19 will need to use a rapid antigen test, visit a Commonwealth Respiratory Clinic or contact a GP for a pathology referral.

Eligible concession card holders can access free RAT kits at Queensland Health distribution points.

According to recent health statistics, 119 people have died from Covid in the Darling Downs.

As Toowoomba still prepares for the incoming fourth wave, aged care homes are still recovering from a series of outbreaks in July.