From Monday, some federal public servants and their immediate families will have an additional Covid testing facility available to them in Canberra to assist with the very high demand for testing in the ACT.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At the request of the ACT government, Defence's Joint Health Command is making its health centre at the Royal Military College, Duntroon available to the wider Defence community.
Those who can use the extra facility include active-service Defence personnel, reservists, public servants in the Defence portfolio and Australian Signals Directorate, and immediate family members in their households.
The ACT is in the midst of a seven-day lockdown after COVID-19 was detected in the territory for the first time in more than a year last Thursday.
The territory currently has nine active cases of community transmission.
Since the start of lockdown arrangements in the ACT on Thursday, the territory government's two drive-through testing facilities at Exhibition Park in Canberra and the newly opened Brindabella Business Park have experienced long queues lasting hours, and even turning people away on Thursday and Friday evening.
READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS:
Wait times eased on Saturday, with an extra lane was opened at EPIC on Saturday which meant a swab could be taken every 30 seconds.
While there is extremely high demand, the ACT government has asked that people in the Canberra region only get testing for a two reasons including being directed by authorities in contact tracing interviews or a public health order; having symptoms of Covid including fever, respiratory systems or loss of taste or smell.
Defence's facility is also prioritising testing for those most in need, but with two additional reasons, including surveillance approved by the Surgeon General of the ADF, and certain travellers prior to undertaking essential Defence business who have a requirement to obtain a test.
Joint Health Command put out a statement saying it was now offering the testing services to the wider Canberra Defence community.
"At the request of the ACT government, to assist with the demand for Covid testing and to support the Canberra Defence community, we are now offering COVID-19 testing to ADF (including SERCAT 3-7), Defence APS, ASD staff, and their household members at the Defence ACT Health Centre, Duntroon Garrison."
The Duntroon-based facility will follow the same protocols as government testing and reporting, including the requirement for people to isolate following their test, in most cases until a negative result is received.
The facility will be open from 8am to 4pm, during which hours those coming for testing are asked to follow roadside signs and directions from staff, which may include waiting in their vehicle.
Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT and the lockdown is free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
