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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 103 asked in the Legislative Council on 23 February 2022 by Hon Martin Aldridge

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

PCR TESTING — GERALDTON

103. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House representing the Minister for Health:

I refer to instances of regional residents in Geraldton and Yalgoo being unable to access polymerase chain reaction testing in recent days.

(1) Why was a COVID-19 testing clinic in Geraldton closed for several hours on Saturday morning when it should have been open?

(2) Will the minister commit to an urgent review of testing locations in regional WA to ensure PCR testing is accessible to Western Australians who need it in a timely manner?

(3) Will the minister commit to publish an up-to-date list of testing locations on a central website so regional residents can easily locate their nearest available testing location?

(4) What action is the state government taking to ensure PCR testing is accessible in regional WA?

Hon SUE ELLERY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.

(1) The COVID-19 testing facility at Geraldton Health Campus was closed between 10.00 am and 12.30 pm on Saturday, 19 February 2022 due to staff availability. Throughout this period, testing remained available at the emergency department.

(2) WA Country Health Service has COVID testing available at all sites. Rapid antigen tests are now an acceptable diagnostic tool and should be used when PCR testing is not practicable.

(3) The most up-to-date regional testing locations are published on healthywa.wa.gov.au

(4) WA Country Health Service has COVID testing available at all sites.