The Opposition has argued the government’s pre-flight COVID-19 tests imposed on those coming from China won’t yield the results it’s seeking in relation to complex data.
In defending the decision, Health Minister Mark Butler on Tuesday said concerns centre around the lack of genomic sequencing and information coming out of China amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.
Anne Ruston has rubbished the government’s pre-departure testing mandate for arrivals from China, arguing it won’t deliver the genomic sequencing results sought. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi The decision taken by the government was in defiance of the health advice made by the nation’s Chief Medical Officer, who declared mandating testing was “inconsistent” with the national COVID-19 approach and “disproportionate to the risk”.
“The Prime Minister needs to come out and he needs to front Australians and explain why he has made this decision,” she said.
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