Australia politician shares Singapore’s ART vending machine to chide his own govt
Why the entire planet is struggling to live with Covid-19, it’s always nice when tiny Singapore gets a shout-out for it’s handling of the crisis.
Over here, Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kits are as accessible as a carton of milk – from stores to vending machines and workplaces. Every household has even received multiple free ART kits over the past few months.
The situation is a little different in Australia – a point made apparent by the country's Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese.
Mr Albanese took to Twitter on Jan 24 to chide the Australian government for its poor handling of the pandemic, and attached a photo of a well-stocked ART vending machine in Singapore.
"Rapid tests available in vending machines in packs of five. What happens when a government plans ahead," he wrote, adding that 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 September 2021, when 100 of them were installed at 56 locations across the island, giving residents around-the-clock access to a test kit.
In Australia, ARTs were scarce during the closing months of last year. The situation has improved, however, as the Australian federal government announced it has secured more than 80 million ARTs for delivery in January and February.
The country experienced a recent spike in Covid-19 cases, hitting a record number of 33,161 cases on New Year’s Day.
This overwhelmed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing centres before the government changed the default mode of testing to ART kits.
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