Gippsland › Latest news › Peter Walsh MP
Peter Walsh says rapid testing will help Melbourne and regions in Victoria like Gippsland open up and stay open
Rapid COVID-19 testing as the key to put Victoria back on track.
Shepparton food processor SPC recently became the first Australian business to mandate COVID vaccination for all onsite staff and visitors. Announcing the commercial decision, SPC chair Hussein Rifai said, "We honestly saw very little other options but to take this step".
Rapid Covid-19 testing should be introduced in Victoria to keep it open and help protect our food supply chain
Support from public health experts
Protecting the integrity of the food supply chain - and those who work in it - was just too important. I couldn't agree more. But in addition to vaccination, we should also be using rapid testing to enable Victoria to open up and to keep Victoria open. It's quick, it's effective and it's available right now.
Rapid testing has gathered a groundswell of support from public health experts as a crucial tool that should be in every state's arsenal against the spread of COVID. The first rapid tests were approved by the Therapeutics Goods Association in February. Similar tests are on supermarket shelves and in school backpacks across Europe.
Real time results
Rapid tests were even good enough for our best athletes at the Tokyo Olympics and world leaders at the G7 in Cornwall. The process involves a throat and nasal swab, like the current 'PCR' tests, and is inexpensive (costing about $10 a pop), effective and gives a result within about 15 minutes.
Although it wouldn't replace PCR testing, the public health experts are telling us it has huge potential to be a game-changer for managing COVID, particularly in our food supply chain where the nature of the work can make social distancing difficult.
According to UNSW epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, with rapid tests "You've got real-time results and then you could go onto the work floor knowing that you won't place any of your mates at work at risk of COVID, and you won't get COVID." The University of Melbourne's Professor Tony Blakely has also said that rapid testing at state borders could mitigate the dangers of COVID coming into Victoria.
Statewide lockdown should be a last resort - not a first response
While Daniel Andrews and his Labor Ministers like to claim they're relying on public health advice, they're guilty of pig-headedly refusing to listen to the stream of epidemiologists who overwhelmingly support the use of rapid tests. Victorians deserve a plan out of lockdown.
Rapid tests could be a key to getting our state back on track by supporting a proportionate response to outbreaks. It's good enough for the public health experts. It's good enough to protect the public health of Olympians and world leaders - even those from countries that are still being over-run by COVID. So why isn't it good enough for Victoria?
Pictures from Peter Walsh MP Facebook page.
Source: www.gippsland.com
Published by: news@gippsland.com
Latest News
Baw Baw Shire Council welcomes Victorian government grants aiding Noojee transition from timber harvestingDarren Chester calls for stop to rural health merger citing risks to Gippsland services due to lack of consultation, secrecy and autonomy loss
Nicholson Primary School students get chance to discuss Parliament while receiving certificates from Darren Chester
Russell Broadbent urges government budget accountability to alleviate cost-of-living pressure to tackle inflation and alleviate cost-of-living pressures following the Reserve Bank decision
Senators to reject Fresh food tax after report reveals lack of clarity and adverse impact on farmers and families
ACV/GARDS gets $560K for Gippsland asbestos victims and additional $19.3M for asbestos removal from Victorian Labor government
AstraZeneca blood clot risks admission prompts misinformation concerns in Australian push for COVID-19 vaccinations
Baw Baw Shire Council continues advocacy for key unfunded projects despite limited aid from 2024/25 Victorian State Budget
Darren Chester presses for federal backing on proposed roundabout on Maffra-Sale Rd intersection to complete partial funded from Victorian government
Nationals push for ban on telemarketing and door-knocking of Victorian Energy Upgrade scheme in Latrobe Valley