THE SQUIZ

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating whether rapid antigen tests (RATs) are being sold at excessive prices as Omicron cases continue to soar. The Federal Government has asked the regulator to investigate following more than 100 complaints about individual tests being sold for several times the regular price. The ACCC says there’s no evidence of widespread price gouging, yet. “Clearly we’re dealing with a problem here of limited duration … therefore we need to get those prices down now,” said chairman Rod Sims.

BUT YOU HAVE TO FIND A RAPID TEST TO BUY IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE PRICE GOUGED… 

Good point. If you are one of the many Aussies who has spent some of the last couple of weeks touring your local pharmacies, supermarkets and petrol stations to find a RAT, you’d be forgiven for being a bit snarky about it. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Sonya Bennett yesterday said 100 million rapid antigen tests are on their way over the next week or so – just as some private PCR testing sites in NSW closed “until further notice” in order to clear the backlog of pending results. It’s been testing times for, well, testing as cases soar across the country. Yesterday, Australia passed the half-million mark for COVID cases since the pandemic kicked off. Half of those were reported in the past fortnight. 

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

That’s a question National Cabinet will ponder when our political leaders meet today. One topic up for discussion: whether to provide low-income earners, welfare recipients and pensioners with direct cash payments to buy 5 RATs each. Earlier this week, the Feds agreed to fund half the costs of the RATs bought by the states for people identified as close contacts but PM Scott Morrison has stopped short of committing to handing them out for free. For Labor’s part, leader Anthony Albanese last night said he had “no problem” with them being free. In the meantime, Dr Bennett says a booster shot remains the best defence against the virus – and more Aussies became eligible yesterday. But if you’re hard at work ferreting out a RAT, this might help…