Residents rush to get COVID test

Mid West COVID-19 testing numbers soared up to six-fold at the start of the week after the virus seeped through a crack in Perth’s hotel quarantine system. These figures — and the empty toilet paper shelves on Monday — prove the 400km of bitumen between Geraldton and Perth could not shield the Mid West city from all the pandemic panic down south. Intrastate borders are restricted, but that won’t stop West Australians collectively crossing their fingers that the snap lockdown will end at 6pm tonight. The WA Country Health service only tested 23 Mid West residents the Monday before the lockdown. Last Monday — on the first full day of lockdown — that number blew out to 136. Geraldton’s Commonwealth-funded testing clinic, the Mid West Respiratory Clinic, also saw a significant jump in testing numbers. The week before the positive case in Perth, the clinic only tested 13 people. By close of business on Wednesday, it had already tested 64 people this week. Practice manager Holly Fawcett said this scare looked nothing like last year, saying the public was calm in the face of familiar precautions. “Everyone just wants to do the right thing. Nobody is calling and freaking out like they did last year,” she said. She said most people had spent time in Perth during school holidays and wanted to be sure they were COVID-19 negative before going to work or spending time with friends and family. Ms Fawcett said Monday was the clinic's biggest day, saying she braced herself after hearing Sunday’s news. “We knew things were going to be crazy, but we put a plan in place,” she said. The Mid West Respiratory Clinic usually only tests symptomatic patients, but it was permitted to test asymptomatic people until the WA COVID-19 scare was quelled. At the time of print, an extensive testing effort had found no community transmission cases since the security guard tested positive. In the first three days of lockdown, more than 36,500 people were tested, while 156 of the security guard’s 191 close contacts and 200 of his 258 casual contacts have returned a negative swab, with Premier Mark McGowan saying they would be re-tested from today. He urged West Australians not to let these good results lead to complacency, calling for those in affected areas to “get tested again” if they start experiencing symptoms after receiving a negative result.