Australia's "Gear Change" To Ease Covid Testing Rules Amid Record Surge
NDTV
Covid In Australia: Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia needed "a gear change" to manage testing requirements, redefine who qualifies as a close contact and the furlough of virus-exposed workers.
Australia will seek to make urgent changes to COVID-19 testing rules to ease pressure on test sites as infections surged and the country's most populous state reported a near doubling in daily cases.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday Australia needed "a gear change" to manage testing requirements, redefine who qualifies as a close contact and the furlough of virus-exposed workers. He called a snap meeting of the national cabinet on Thursday.
"We just can't have everybody just being taken out of circulation because they just happen to be at a particular place at a particular time," Morrison said during a media briefing.
Morrison's proposed rules on close contacts could mean most people do not have to get PCR tests or isolate themselves, cutting long lines at test sites and 72-to-96-hour waits for lab results.
