January 26, 2022, 03:51 PM
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In Singapore, if one requires an Antigen Rapid Test (ART), they can simply head to the pharmacy or to a vending machine.
But recently, the same can't be said for Australia where Covid-19 cases are mounting and ART kits are in short supply.
In fact, the country's Leader of the Opposition has seized on the availability of test kits here to chide the Australian government for its supposed poor handling of the pandemic.
"Rapid tests available in vending machines in packs of five. What happens when a government plans ahead," wrote Anthony Albanese in a pointed tweet accompanied by a photo of said vending machine.
Albanese said a friend in Singapore sent him the photo.
A friend in Singapore sent me this. Rapid tests available in vending machines in packs of five. What happens when a government plans ahead. pic.twitter.com/ppUq2R780I
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 24, 2022
Such machines have been available in Singapore since Sep. 18, 2021, when 100 of them were deployed to 56 locations across the island, giving residents 24/7 access to a test kit.
Spike in cases due to Omicron
Meanwhile, in Australia, ARTs have been scarce since Christmas, though ABC News reports that the situation has eased somewhat.
The latest crowd-sourced data shows around 60 per cent of stores have stock, almost triple the level of two weeks ago.
In addition, the Australian federal government has announced that it secured more than 80 million ARTs for delivery in January and February
Over the month of January, the country experienced record numbers of Covid-19 cases, sparked by the increased transmissibility of Omicron.
The spike in cases overwhelmed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing centres before Australia's federal government switched the default mode of testing to ART kits.
At the time of writing Australia has reported 24,097 new Covid-19 cases for the past 24 hours.
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Top image from Anthony Albanese's Twitter and by Mediakit Ltd via Unsplash
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