“Hundreds of thousands” of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) to be distributed throughout Canberra’s schools, ACT Health and to essential workers have begun arriving today from Sydney.
The ACT Emergency Services Agency’s (ACTESA) training facility in Hume will house the tests and act as a distribution hub for in excess of a million tests over the course of February.
Paid staff from all four ACTESA services, along with volunteers, will be involved across various facets of the program to deliver the RATs.
They will operate in three shifts a day with approximately 50 staff and volunteers on each shift, working seven days a week to deliver around 250,000 tests per week across Canberra over the next four to six weeks.
ACTESA Commissioner Georgeina Whelan said she’s proud of the “mammoth effort” staff and volunteers are putting in to ensure the tests get to where they’re needed.
“I’m very fortunate that we’ve got great staff here in the ESA, particularly the logistics staff who have been working through the complexities and the timelines to ensure packing, unpacking, repacking and delivery meets the community’s needs,” she said.
“Our vehicles will be rolling this afternoon, so we’ll start the deliveries this afternoon so, in particular, we can support the start of school next week.”
With the start of the school year only days away, ACT Minister for Education, Yvette Berry, said special ‘lollypop’ RATs will be distributed to students.
As opposed to the conventional rapid tests adults use, the ‘lollypop’ saliva tests take a swab from the back of the mouth as opposed to the nose.
“This will make it so much easier for parents, particularly of young children or children with disabilities, to be able to conduct these tests themselves,” she said.
Deliveries will prioritise specialist schools and early childhood learning facilities, before moving through primary schools, high schools, and colleges.
“We are making this an absolute priority to provide that reassurance to families and school staff that we are putting those tools in our toolkits to keep our school communities as safe as possible.”
Ms Berry said she “always had confidence” that with the help of ACTESA, the RAT tests would go out across Canberra at the earliest opportunity, no later than the end of the week.
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