Testing for coronavirus in Canberra is being expanded with the opening of a new privately-operated drive-through centre in Weston in addition to the two existing government testing sites.
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At the new site drive-through clinic at the corner of Parkinson Street and Namatijira Drive in Weston testing will be free to anyone with a Medicare card but only through a referral by a doctor.
Testing at the two existing government centres doesn't require a doctor's referral. They are at Weston Creek (24 Parkinson Street) and Exhibition Park.
The ACT Government said that "anybody with a temperature of 38 degrees or greater (or recent history of fever such as chills or night sweats) or signs of a respiratory infection such as shortness of breath, cough or sore throat, can present for testing at one of ACT Health's two designated COVID-19 testing centres."
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The company involved in the new test site, Laverty Pathology, said it was responding to the federal government's call for more testing. The idea is that the more the authorities can rule people in or out of having the virus, the faster the economy can open back up.
Referral for a test can only come through a doctor. On the latest count, just short of 8000 tests had been done in the ACT, with all but 106 of them negative. Of those 106 confirmed cases, 99 had recovered, three had died, one was still in hospital and the remainder were in isolation, probably at home.
The plan at the new testing centre was to notify patients by SMS if they were clear of the virus and to notify the doctor and the patient quickly if they had it. Treatment and isolation would then be urgent.
"This is by far the easiest, safest and most convenient way for anyone to be tested for COVID-19," Laverty's general manager, Matt Brumby, said.
"It is our hope that by making a test for COVID-19 more widely available in Canberra, we'll all be able to return to normal sooner rather than later."
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The new drive-through clinic in Weston will be open from Monday to Friday between 8am and 4pm.
The company said: "Residents wishing to use the service will need to arrive in a vehicle and have a referral from their GP, their Medicare card and ID.
"Patients must remain in their vehicles at all times while a nurse in full protective equipment will perform the test."
There is also a drive-through assessment centre at Exhibition Park, at the corner of Flemington Road and Northbourne Avenue Mitchell. It is open from 9.30am to 6pm (last car accepted at 5pm) daily, including public holidays.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
