Nationals Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy highlights his utter disappointment in the Victorian Government’s failing to ensure enough Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT’s) are made available and accessible to Victorians across the state.
Mr McCurdy said, “the lack of RAT’s available to purchase is causing considerable grief.
“Victorians are trying to do the right thing and follow the instructions from the Victorian Government, yet they are left in a whirlwind of uncertainty.
“Supermarkets, chemists and our health care systems are being inundated with RAT demands and community members are being told tests have been sold out before they even hit the shelves.
“Now we are seeing supply shortages with stores like Coles, Woolworths and even local IGA stores introducing caps on everyday products and groceries.”
He continued, “I called for RAT’s to be made available by the Victorian Government in early 2021, and it took until Christmas Eve last year for the Victorian Government to make this decision.
“How has the Victorian Government allowed our communities to get to such a vulnerable position; one where our own healthcare, or frontline workers struggle to have access to their own RAT tests?
“The Victorian Government needs to come clean and give Victorians an accurate time frame on when we can freely purchase RAT.”
“Victorians are either forced to wait on the phone for hours to report a RAT result, search for sold out Rapid Tests or get a PCR test which could see individuals being off work with waits of up to 7 days before finding out their result.
“To see two years into this pandemic Victoria still continues to be way behind the times is just unacceptable.
“Enough is enough. With the slow PCR system and its challenges, the Victorian Government needs to do more to help Victorians move forward and continue their daily lives,” Mr McCurdy said.