Hobart woman with pneumonia has been repeatedly refused coronavirus testing

A Hobart woman ill with pneumonia wants to know why she has repeatedly been refused COVID-19 tests.

A 23-year-old Hobart woman is seriously ill but doctors are refusing to screen her for COVID-19. Picture: SUPPLIED

A YOUNG Hobart woman ill with fever, coughing fits, discoloured lips and difficulty breathing is questioning why doctors have refused to test her for COVID-19.

The 23-year-old, who works as an in-home carer for at-risk children, says she is worried doctors are declining tests so the Government can keep numbers of confirmed cases low, and back up claims of zero community transfers in Tasmania.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, has been sick for over a week. She finally called the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline last weekend but was advised against taking a coronavirus test.

She told the Mercury that last Sunday, she visited a Rosny GP who swabbed her nose but declined her request to be screened for COVID-19.

On Wednesday, with a temperature of 39.9 C and the “taste of blood” in her throat, the woman’s friend again called the public health hotline.

This time, she said she was advised to take a coronavirus test, call an ambulance, and advise anyone who had been in contact with her to isolate until her tests came back.

She attended the Royal Hobart Hospital, where she spent the next three hours in an isolated area in protective gear, but again doctors declined her request to be screened for coronavirus.

The woman she said was given a chest X-ray, which identified fluid on her lungs and pneumonia, but was simply sent home with an antibiotics script.

She said she spent Thursday night covered in sweat and wondering what was going on, attending a GP in Moonah on Friday to again be refused coronavirus screening.

“I have not been tested for COVID-19, among other tests. I have asked four or five times now, both at the after-hours doctor, the hospital, and my own GP,” the woman said.

“The reason given was that I didn’t meet testing criteria, even though I work with vulnerable people and have been in contact with someone who’s recently come back from overseas. Asymptomatic carriers exist. I find it ridiculous that the Government is pretending they don’t.”

The woman, who still hasn’t received the results of her nose swab, said she was concerned about why she was repeatedly refused a COVID-19 test.

“I believe they are actively not testing to keep cases low, and so they can say that no cases have happened through community transfer,” she said.

The woman’s friend shared her story on a Facebook post, receiving hundreds of comments from concerned Tasmanians, including some with similar stories of having tests refused.

Premier Peter Gutwein said on Friday that 800 tests had so far been carried out in Tasmania, according to nationally set requirements.

“We are being guided by the national guidelines and we are testing in accordance with them and we will continue to do so, should they change we will change our testing regime,” he said.