Voice of America
17 Apr 2020, 16:05 GMT+10
SYDNEY - Australia will start rapid coronavirus testing for more than 80 remote indigenous settlements. The 45-minute test will help authorities to monitor the spread of COVID-19 more efficiently in isolated areas where results can currently take up to 10 days.
The rapid tests will allow aboriginal health services in remote parts of Australia to respond quickly if COVID-19 is identified. Indigenous leaders believe any outbreak would be devastating for communities that already have complex health problems and a life expectancy of about 10 years less than the nonaboriginal population. There are high rates of renal failure, diabetes and smoking, while housing is often overcrowded in these communities.
The government says indigenous peoples are at elevated risk of the new coronavirus.
Ministers say the 45-minute tests are a "game-changing improvement," and professor James Ward from the University of Queensland agrees.
"Significant delays with COVID[-19] testing and diagnosis will result in major ramifications, including outbreaks for many of our communities, so it is [a] really very important tool in the toolbox," he said. "We are in [a] much better situation than we were in the 2009 pandemic of H1N1, where aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were significantly over-represented in hospitalizations, ICU admissions and death rates."
During an outbreak of H1N1 swine flu in 2009, indigenous Australians made up a fifth of all hospital admissions and 13 percent of deaths. They comprise about 3 percent of the national population, and they suffer disproportionately high rates of poverty, ill health and imprisonment.
Some remote aboriginal settlements in Australia are banning outsiders in an attempt to stop the march of COVID-19 across the country.
The rapid COVID-19 tests are expected to begin within weeks. The technology is a result of collaboration between the Sydney-based Kirby Institute and Flinders University in South Australia.
Get a daily dose of Sydney Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sydney Sun.
More InformationSTUTTGART, Germany: Beginning in 2025, Mercedes-Benz will incorporate a new, highly energy-dense battery in its G-Class electric vehicles, potentially solving ...
LONDON, England: UK prices are rising at their fastest rate in 40 years, as higher energy bills are changing spending ...
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota: Amidst the rising costs of essentials, such as fuel and food, and the rapid return by consumers to ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: After its U.S. asset management unit pleaded guilty to criminal securities fraud after the collapse of a group ...
SACRAMENTO, California: In another blow to the state's push to diversify corporate leadership, a California court judge has ruled that ...
KATHMANDU, Nepal - According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Nepal has reported its first cases of African ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to the inability of businesses to hire enough workers, the U.S. has announced that it will grant ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren and Mike Rounds have introduced a bipartisan resolution requesting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ...
MOSCOW, Russia: According to preliminary data released by the finance ministry this week, almost three months after Moscow's invasion of ...
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: After China's decision to not host the 2023 Asian Cup, a choice for a new host will ...
GENEVA, Switzerland: The World Health Organization (WHO) has received a proposal by 13 member states requesting that Taiwan be allowed ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the bloc would ensure Ukraine that it has ...