Drive-up testing clinic continues

Drive-up testing clinic continues

AFTER a brief closure due to a staff shortage last week, the drive-through COVID-19 testing service setup in the Dubbo RSL carpark is back in action.

The swab collection point, run by Laverty Pathology, operates Monday to Friday from 8am to noon.

While anyone can be tested at the drive-through clinic and no appointment is necessary, people must present a referral and identification before being swabbed.

“All people need is a pathology request form from their doctor and they will be able to use the drive-through clinic,” a Laverty spokesperson told

“They should also have a form of ID and a Medicare card.”

Results are usually sent to the referring doctor within 24 hours of the samples reaching the laboratory, and people can also opt to receive an SMS if the test returns a negative reading.

Although the Dubbo Local Government Area (LGA) hasn’t seen any new cases since midapril, the Laverty spokesperson said they would continue to provide the drive-up service “for as long as the government and the community require it.”

COUNTRY Chapter Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance, Dubbo-based representative, Mick Etheridge is pictured (prior to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions) with ATA’S policy director Emilie Dye, attending a local meeting here in February.

Spruiking transparent and fair governance, they belong to the nation’s largest grassroots advocacy group which most recently has admonished the NSW Government for spending upwards of $1.2 million of taxpayers’ money on indoor plants for its new corporate office in Parramatta.

The Department of Planning gave the green light to a three-year contract with Tropical Plant Rentals because the plants granted the building a green star rating for sustainability.

“The $1.2 million only reflects the indoor vegetation costs, excluding the external landscape costs,” Ms Dye said.

“After bushfires and the COVID-19 economic crisis, now is not the time to waste taxpayer dollars on building aesthetics. This kind of extravagant spending mocks the over half a million Australians who have lost their jobs and the many small businesses who will never turn their signs back to ‘open’.”

“When individuals hit hard economic times, they start cutting non-essentials, the government should do the same. Taxpayers do not have the means to spend on 5-star green ratings for government buildings while they still struggle to get through the current global upheaval,” Ms Dye said.

“Nothing about this kind of expenditure can be called, ‘sustainable.’ Right now, sustainability requires keeping as much money in Australian pockets as possible. People cannot worry about the environment when they are worrying about paying rent and putting food on the table,” Ms Dye said.

This article first appeared in Dubbo PhotoNews 18 June 2020