People in NSW can finally report their positive RAT results… oh but if you don’t, you’ll be fined $1000.
In the past 24 hours, more than 60,000 people in NSW have reported a positive result from a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
But it’s not as alarming as it sounds because that number includes any positive rapid test since January 1, while the government took their time to get this service ready.
To report a result, you need to log into the Service NSW app or website, click on the “COVID-19 support” tab and then “register a positive test result”.
Anyone who receives a positive result from a RAT and doesn’t report it could face a fine of $1000, which is a bit gross considering the Premier didn’t seem too worried about those results until there was an opportunity for revenue.
However, the NSW Customer Service Minister, Victor Dominello says that this law will be difficult to enforce, and is more about showing the public that the government are taking these results seriously.
Aren’t we lucky to have a government that shows they care by slapping us with fines if we can’t use a poorly set-up reporting service?
But that’s understandable considering the alternative actually requires the government to take steps to make testing services readily available to the public. A public who would LOVE to do the right thing… if they physically could.
University of Sydney health law expert, Dr Chris Rudge suspects that the main two groups who have the highest chance of being fined are those who are admitted to hospital from the virus but didn’t report a positive RAT test and those who are dobbed in by housemates for not isolating.
It’s hard to tell how many more positive cases are yet to be reported through the app, or how many positive cases haven’t been able to receive a result at all. But at least the number of known cases will be slightly more accurate than they have been for some time.
