Bryan Bardwell pays daily visits to his wife of more than 50 years at her nursing home.
And he is checked for COVID-19 every day.
Helen Bardwell has dementia and has been a resident of the Nellie Melba Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill for the last two and a half years.
After Melbourne's epidemic intensified, its operator Ryman Healthcare instituted obligatory quick antigen testing for all visitors and contractors to its elderly care facilities last week.
Mr. Bardwell said that he thinks it's a nice thing to have because, even though we're both completely vaccinated, it just adds that additional layer of security.
He said that it does not bother him to be tested every day.
Mr. Bardwell may be tested on-site by one of the centre's healthcare professionals and get a result 10 minutes later thanks to rapid antigen testing.
'Another tool' to fight COVID in a hurry
Ryman Healthcare's Victorian operations manager, Paul Sutton, believes that around 160 individuals will be subjected to quick testing at each of the company's three locations each week, not counting repeat visits.
Visits to residents of elderly care facilities are prohibited under current COVID-19 regulations, although exceptions are allowed for end-of-life visits or for individuals who provide emotional support, such as Mr Bardwell.
However, there is no need for elderly care facilities to conduct obligatory visitor testing.
Mr. Sutton said last year was terrible for residential aged care institutions.
He said that they don't want COVID to get in. They know that if it gets into a facility, a large number of employees will be furloughed very soon, which implies that the quality of care cannot be assured.
Citizens are very vulnerable; they may perish."
During Melbourne's second wave last year, 655 people at Commonwealth-funded aged care institutions perished.
Mr Sutton added that even with 70% immunisation, we may live in a new world where COVID is still present.
This is another weapon in the armoury. It's another method to ensure that COVID doesn't walk through our doors.
Tests that are useful in distant or regional areas
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said this week that the state should forsake its initial target of zero COVID cases in the community and instead concentrate on controlling outbreaks until greater vaccine coverage is reached.
According to microbiologist Paul Wood, Victoria's change in approach necessitates more testing, and he is astonished that the federal and state governments have failed to implement fast testing procedures.
Professor Wood said that they've been having this discussion with them since May of last year, suggesting that they need to utilise all of the instruments at their disposal.
Professor Deborah Williamson of Melbourne's Doherty Institute agrees, claiming that Australia was a "victim of its success" by neglecting to implement broad fast antigen testing.
Professor Williamson said that they went through a time when they didn't have many if any, instances. As a result, there was no need to do it.
However, regrettably, the need is present - and it's growing.
The nasal swabbing method for rapid antigen testing is faster and less intrusive than conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays.
They're also much less costly. Ryman Healthcare claims that the quick antigen test it is employing costs around $12 per test.
PCR tests, on the other hand, cost an average of $100 apiece, with an $85 refund for private pathology.
The disadvantage is that fast antigen testing is less reliable than PCR testing — a contrast that Professor Wood believes is overstated.
He said that when these tests were initially suggested, many remarked, it's not as good as it used to be.
It isn't the question. The issue is, under what conditions would you employ them?
And we now have them: admission to elderly care, admission to sports events.
Why are they used in the mining industry? Because they have distant mining sites and offshore drilling locations, it simply makes sense.
Professor Wood said that for distant or regional towns without a pathology facility, the practical advantage of not having to send out quick antigen testing was obvious.
He said that if the results of PCR tests were not returned within five days, it was essentially "pointless" testing since health authorities would not have an accurate picture of how much virus was circulating in the population.
Professor Wood said that if you have a population and you're wondering, 'I wonder what's going on there, I wonder if there's illness there,' I can go in and survey easily utilising fast testing.
These essays are meant to supplement rather than replace [PCR testing].
That's what they should have done from the start; they should have thrown everything at this.
Instead, they've locked themselves into a pretty simple testing routine.
Considered for industrial usage
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley revealed this week that authorities were in talks with numerous high-risk sectors about implementing quick antigen testing.
Mr. Foley said that employers rightfully want to make sure they can do all they can to keep ahead of where the virus is being transmitted, and fast antigen testing, saliva testing, is a component of that.
Rapid antigen testing, according to Professor Williamson, would be especially helpful in sectors such as health care, elderly care, food distribution facilities, and even construction sites, where people work in "quite close quarters."
She added that the data indicates that these tests have the most potential function in repeated testing of the same cohort of individuals and that frequent testing may assist in counterbalance the test's loss insensitivity.
For Bryan Bardwell, though, being tested just means he can see his wife during lockdown without putting her in danger of illness.
He added that it gives him peace of mind to know he's in excellent hands and being properly cared for.
He says he's looking forward to spending many more years with Helen in a COVID-free future.
Mr. Bardwell said that last year was a shock to our way of life. However, we've gotten a little more acclimated and settled in now.
It'll be 55 years soon, so it's been a wonderful trip. We had a great experience.
