About the program
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander COVID-19 Point-of-Care (POC) Testing Program enables on-site testing for COVID-19 to occur in remote health services where laboratory-based pathology testing is limited or where significant delays in time to results exist.
Health services which are more than 2 hours away from another testing facility and provide care to predominantly Aboriginal and Torres Strait people are eligible.
The Program uses a device, called the GeneXpert, which detects SARS-COV-2 (otherwise known as COVID-19) directly using state-of-the art molecular-based technology and gives an accurate result in just 45 minutes.
The Program aims to provide a tool to improve public health responses, reduce transmission and morbidity in these remote communities.