CORONAVIRUS —
TESTING REGIME
372. Mr M. HUGHES to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the ongoing work by
health authorities to contain and stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that Western
Australia is well prepared to respond to any outbreaks. Can the minister
outline to the house how the expanded testing of asymptomatic Western Australians
will support these efforts; and, further, can the minister advise the house as
to who will be part of the expanded testing regime?
Mr R.H. COOK replied:
I thank the member for the question.
It is a good question. It is about how Western Australia can continue to grow
in confidence about the COVID-19 response. Today I launched DETECT Snapshot,
which is the next phase of our DETECT program, our nation-leading testing
regime for asymptomatic people. DETECT Snapshot, which will go live tomorrow for two weeks, will provide a testing
blitz across cohorts that are of particular interest for COVID-19. This project will help us get a better
understanding of potential COVID-19 cases that may be in the community and
that have not been detected. More
importantly, it will provide the government and the public with greater
confidence that we are on top of this virus. People from specific
cohorts who are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 will be able to get a test for
the virus at one of our COVID clinics, a drive-through facility at Burswood, or
from a range of privately-operated pathology providers. There will be around
100 outlets right across the state for all those people working in the
industries that we want to focus on. In particular, we will be utilising some
of the testing kits that were arranged for us by Andrew Forrest's Minderoo
Foundation. Once again, we thank it for its efforts to significantly assist us
to boost our testing armoury.
In
answer to the member for Kalamunda's question, the eligible groups who
we are asking to take part in the testing blitz include healthcare workers,
such as WA Health staff; private hospital employees; employees of residential aged-care facilities, general practices and
pharmacies; and disability sector employees—really, any worker employed
by an organisation that is delivering health services.
Mr Z.R.F. Kirkup: Paramedics?
Mr R.H. COOK: Yes. Western Australia
Police Force staff will also be eligible for testing, as will meatworkers
employed in an abattoir, meatpacking, or in further processing, such as small
goods manufacture. Retail workers, such as employees in supermarkets,
department stores and specialty stores; and hospitality workers, such as
employees in cafes, restaurants, pubs or hotels are also eligible. These groups
have been selected mainly for their frequent
interaction with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic or where documented
outbreaks have occurred in other
jurisdictions. Participation in the testing will be absolutely voluntary;
however, the greater the participation, the more valuable the evidence
will be. We will continue to work with industry groups, unions and other
members of the community to help them come on board with this testing. We want
to test as many people as we can in the next fortnight. Through the testing
blitz, we will see exactly what is going on with COVID-19, particularly within
these cohorts. DETECT Snapshot will further improve our understanding of
COVID-19 and provide the public with additional confidence that the chances of
being exposed to the virus remains low.
The McGowan government has been a leader
in the nation on the management of COVID-19. We remain leaders in relieving
restrictions in Western Australia to ensure that Western Australians can find
their way to the new normal of living with COVID-19. DETECT Snapshot will
provide the community with absolute clarity at this time of exactly where we
are up to. I urge all members to do whatever they can to support the program.