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Friday, April 26, 2024

ACT COVID-19 clinics to refocus on PCR tests

ACT COVID-19 testing clinics will return their focus to conducting PCR tests with supplies to conduct the tests now back to near-normal levels.

Kambah will be closed tomorrow but will open on Saturday and Sunday to conduct PCR tests. Rapid antigen tests (RATs) will not be distributed at the facility until further stock is secured.

The Capital Pathology clinic at Holt will operate from 8am-4pm tomorrow, but will be closed over the weekend.

The hours of operation for the Mitchell, Garran, Kambah and Nicholls centres are:

  • Mitchell: 8am-10pm Friday, 1:30-9pm Saturday and Sunday
  • Garran: 7:30am-9pm each day
  • Kambah: closed Friday, open 8am-4pm Saturday and Sunday
  • Nicholls: 8am-4pm each day

These clinics will all primarily operate as PCR clinics. RATs will be available in limited circumstances at Mitchell and Garran, however you should expect to receive a PCR test if you attend these centres.

The ACT is conserving the usage of RATs until reliable supply arrangements have been confirmed and are in place.

People who meet the criteria to be offered a RAT at Mitchell or Garran will only be offered a single kit due to supply constraints.

ACT Pathology and Capital Pathology have received additional supplies to expand PCR capacity back to near-normal levels. The current turnaround time for PCR results is estimated to be less than 24 hours.

People should only attend a testing centre to be tested if they have symptoms of COVID-19, are household contacts of a confirmed case, are at high or moderate risk of contracting COVID-19 or have been instructed to get tested by ACT Health (including recent returned overseas travellers).

People who return a positive RAT are required to isolate immediately, register their positive result using the online form, and follow all further instructions on the website for people who test positive to COVID-19.

The opening hours and waiting times for all COVID-19 testing sites can be found here.

ACT Health are continuing to assess the capacity of the testing clinics day-by-day depending on the testing supplies we have available. More information about clinic arrangements for next week will be shared soon.

Meanwhile, the ACT reported a dip in COVID cases today with 892 new infections. Only 254 of the new cases were from PCR tests while 648 were from RATs.

Despite the fall in new cases, hospitalisations rose slightly with 62 patients now being treated, up from 60 the previous day.

Five are being treated in intensive care, an increase from the three recorded on Wednesday, while there are two patients on a ventilator.

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