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Australia has the highest rate of diagnostic pathology testing for COVID-19 in the world, per 100,000 population. We spoke to Doctor Michael Harrison, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology to understand how this will assist in minimising the impact of the virus.
“The only way to manage an infectious outbreak is to identify the cases, quarantine them and then contact trace. The good news is that there has been an agility within Australian pathology laboratories which has been extraordinary. Pathology laboratories have ensured there are enough resources and workarounds in place to keep testing; which has been a real success.”
Australia has delivered the highest rate of pathology testing for COVID-19 of any country in the world per 100,000 population, with over 290,000 tests completed across Australia so far.
Dr Harrison estimates that his laboratory is doing about 1,000 tests per day, and that more than approximately 20,000 tests have been conducted at this particular laboratory in total, so far. Dr Harrison also believes that introducing COVID-19 testing quickly into laboratories and providing reliable, accurate results within short timeframes will prove to be invaluable.
“The quality and quantity of testing has significant bearing on how countries are managing this pandemic. Countries with low testing rates and poor access to tests have fared quite badly. The fact that we’ve got a lot of expertise embedded in our laboratories, including Pathologists, Scientists and Technicians, has meant that we have been able to come up with a wide range of solutions very quickly,” said Doctor Harrison.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Australia on 25 January 2020. Since then, a large-scale scientific effort was brought underway to bring testing methods for COVID-19 onto the market.
“The public health laboratories had only about a week to run up the test. They had to do this with information from the very first cases, including the genetic sequence of the virus. This all happened very quickly; a test was developed, from scratch and introduced into laboratories very quickly. Usually this can take up to twelve months, we did it in a matter of days. The RCPA Quality Assurance Program (QAP) has also developed a QAP for COVID-19 testing and participants have already performed the first round of this.
“Testing rates increased from just a few tests per day to over 10,000 tests per day in Australia. Most of the laboratories have kept up with this without a major delay, and many are producing a next day result which is incredible. By developing the assay, and having it fairly widely available very quickly, we have shown that Australia can cope with a further increase in demand,” said Dr Harrison.
From 13 March 2020, a dedicated Medicare bulk-billed pathology test for COVID-19 was introduced by the Australian Government. The introduction of this item to the Medicare Benefit Schedule (MBS) will help ensure that there is adequate capacity to provide accessible and rapid laboratory testing of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19.
“The Government quickly recognised the need for funding for these tests which was a very positive step. Until they did that, there was no way of renumerating the private sector. When you are running these tests on these large numbers, it comes at a huge cost,” said Dr Harrison.
Government guidelines for the community are updating daily. Current guidelines include:
- Practice social distancing;
- Follow the limits for public gatherings;
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
- Cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
- Avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth; and
- Most importantly, stay home where possible.
All travellers returning from overseas to Australia will be placed in enforced quarantine for a self-isolation period of 14-days to slow the spread of coronavirus. This will see returned travellers housed in hotels, motels, caravan parks, and student accommodation for their 14-day self-isolation period. Individuals must self-isolate if they have COVID-19, or you have been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19,
“It is essential that individuals follow advice and check the updates daily from the Government. Combined with a high level of quick, high-quality pathology testing, these guidelines will absolutely help to slow the spread of COVID-19 within our community,” said Doctor Harrison.
Individuals with acute, cold, flu-like symptoms who are returned travellers, or a contact of a confirmed case, should be tested for COVID-19. More recently, this has also been extended to symptomatic Health Care Workers. Samples for testing can be taken directly by GPs or at a range of public and private pathology sites across the different states that are suitable for collection of COVID-19, or at fever clinics operated by certain public hospitals.
Anyone seeking information on coronavirus (COVID-19) should call 1800 020 080. The line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.[1]
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