Queues of up to 9 hours to get PCR tests for coronavirus in Australia

The inhabitants of the main cities of Australia face queues of up to nine hours to get PCR testing of coronavirus covid-19 Due to the great demand for the rebound in infections in the country, which this Wednesday reported almost 65,000 infections and 19 deaths, as well as the shortage of home antigen tests.

In the cities of Sydney and Melbourne, those most affected by the irruption of the omicron variant, and the rest of the country there are daily long queues of people or vehicles, which can extend for more than a couple of kilometers, to access a free PCR test exclusively in laboratories intended for those purposes.

The wait can last up to nine hours while the results take up to four days, which is causing enormous outrage, while at least 80 eventual test centers have had to close to dedicate themselves to analyzing the samples.

“This massive demand … is due to the large volume of the variant (omicron). Under the delta, it was very, very different. This affects all the countries of the world, not only Australia ”, justified this Wednesday the liberal prime minister, Scott Morrison, who has been criticized for the lack of provisions to face these rebounds.

To alleviate pressure on the system, the Australian government has recommended that residents with covid symptoms take home antigen tests, but these are in short supply, are more expensive, and have begun to be sold on the black market, leading to various sectors politicians, health and social have asked that its distribution be free.

Morrison said today that he will present a proposal to regional leaders to reduce costs, although he stressed that these tests to detect the virus are free for those who have tested positive for antigens or who are close contacts in homes, among a few others. reasons.

The president of the Australian Medical Association, Omar Khorshid, said in a statement that it is “very likely” an increase in the numbers of accumulated cases, which have gone from about 212,000 infections on December 1 to almost 613,000 today, ” they represent only a fraction of the real infection rates ”.

The Australian Government, which applied one of the toughest policies in the world against the pandemic, assures that it does not plan to establish new restrictions and that we are at a stage where we have to live with the virus in the country, which, according to experts, would reach your peak of infections this month. EFE wat / raa / amd

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