CANBERRA, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s COVID-19 case number surpassed 500,000 yesterday.
Chris Moy, vice president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), said, the government failed to come up with a plan for rapid antigen tests (RATs), amid reports of supply shortfalls and price gouging.
“There is an inability to supply at the critical moment and there is a lack of equity of access and it is costing so much,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio, yesterday.
“The case numbers from Omicron is way outside those of Delta … These numbers are way outside of what people were expecting and this day was always going to come,” he said. “We need rapid antigen tests in play and in people’s hands.”
This came after Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, on Monday, rejected a push for the government to subsidise RATs, declaring that doing so would “undercut” private providers.
According to the Department of Health of the Australian government, as of Monday the country reported 499,958 COVID-19 cases in total, with 2,266 deaths.
Australia yesterday reported a record of 47,000 daily infections, and four deaths.
It took the total number of cases, since the start of the pandemic, to surpass 500,000.
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania all reported new daily case number records.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing sites across the country, were again inundated yesterday, with many forced to close within minutes of opening, due to unprecedented demand.– NNN-AGENCIES
