FLOREAT MEDICAL, consistent with the Australian Department of Health policy, urges anyone with ‘cold’ symptoms to have a COVID-19 test as soon as possible. This is regardless of severity of illness, travel history or considered likelihood of COVID infection.
It is easy to have a test.
Option 1: Go directly to a public COVID-19 clinic to get tested on the spot – no referral required.
Option 2: Give us a call on 93876000 and we can arrange over the phone a referral for testing at a private lab.
You do not need to wait until you are told by a doctor to get a test.
Once you have your test, self-isolate until your results are available (which is usually within 24hrs).
We have been extremely lucky in WA. No community spread for 9 months. Borders are closed. Life is more normal here than pretty much anywhere else in the world.
So why bother testing when it’s just a cold?
In recent months, we have seen how easily hotel quarantine can be breached. In Qld, SA, NSW and Victoria, there have been infection leaks into the community resulting in state-wide lockdowns.
It can happen just as easily in WA and is perhaps more likely, now that the burden of cases in hotel quarantine is increasing as the pandemic rages overseas, and the more infectious strain of the virus enters our State. The general lack of social distancing in our community and our normal way of life could mean that if virus arrives and escapes hotel quarantine, it will spread rapidly in our community.
During a pandemic, it is important to keep testing even when it is extremely unlikely that your test will come up positive. This differs from the usual medical model of testing based on probability. Our aim is not to diagnose your cold, it is to detect community COVID-19 spread as early as possible. This allows our Health Department to stamp it out and prevent a prolonged WA lockdown or worse, a UK/US style outbreak in our own State.
Our commitment to you:
The doctors at Floreat Medical will remain proactive in referring patients for testing and are available for phone consults to answer your queries.
Our vigilance reflects our commitment to your safety and keeping our doors open for your ongoing medical care.
We thank for your understanding and cooperation with our infection control measures and for your prompt action in getting tested when needed.