Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Shadow Health Minister Bill Yan about the home quarantine trial

Transcript

Katie spoke with Shadow Health Minister Bill Yan about the home quarantine trial · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It is twenty minutes after ten o'clock now. Last week,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: about this time last week, last Monday, the government announced
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: that they would be trialing home quarantine with around one
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: hundred Territorians in an effort to really iron out I think,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: you'd say, any of the concerns that we might have
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: when it comes to testing, making sure that we've got
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: the capability and capacity to do those seven tests that
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: are going to be required of travelers coming from interstate.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: But there still seems to be a lot of questions
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: which remain unanswered at this point. And one of those
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: questions which very much remains unanswered is the number of
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: people that are actually undertaking this trial. Now joining me
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: on the line is the opposition spokesperson for Health, Bill Yan.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Bill.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: Good morning, good morning to your listeners.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Now, Bill, I know that the opposition, the COLP opposition,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: is certainly calling for some transparency when it comes to
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the home quarantining trial which is currently underway.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: What exactly do you want to say, Well, what.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: We'd like in the Okada is, of course, and not
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: just as of course of Territorians. What's actually going on,
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: how many people taking part in the trial, how's the
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: trial going, Are they seeing any issues? How is it
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: actually working for them? But they're going to government doesn't
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: want to allow anybody to know what's going on, and
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: it all seems to be a huge, big secret and
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: they're not being transparent and open with Territorians. People want
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: to know what's going on.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Well, I know that when you talk about the number
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: of territori ins that are taking part, I thought it
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: had originally been flagged that there'd be one hundred people
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: taking part in this time quarantine trial. But from what
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: I can gather from other media reports, there really hasn't
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: been an answer to exactly how many are actually doing
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: it at this point.
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: No no, I said, it's a lot of people have
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: asked how many people are taking part and the governor
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: said is staying quiet and keeping all over the secrets,
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: saying they're release it at the end of the trial.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: I think at the end of the trial might a
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: little bit too late, Katie. We're supposed to kick off
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: here in our springs with the trial this week, and
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: thirty people down here that we've heard, no announcements. There's
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: nothing coming out of the public saying this is how
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: it's going. This is what we're seeing. I said, it's
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: it's like, let's keep everything a secret, but don't tell
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: territories and anything. We'll let them know when we may
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: have something to say, not when it's just general updates
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: just to see how things are going. It's crazy, not
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: good enough.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: And so Bill, what exactly is the concern here with,
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: you know, with not knowing exactly how many people are
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: taking part and not having a bit more.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: Detail about the home quarantine trial.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Well, I suppose at the end of the day, Katie,
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: it is a trial, and if we're trying the territory's
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: capability on doing home quarantining and the testing regimes, we
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: need to make sure that we've got sufficient people in
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: there doing it. There's no point doing the trial of
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: half a dozen people. If we're going to be running
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: this and running it properly, particularly with Christmas coming up
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: and borders opening up, we need to make sure we've
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: want the maximum amount of people in the trial as
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: possibly get. The test of the territory is capability and
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: capacity to actually do the trial, and if we've not
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: got many numbers, then any outcomes from that trial might
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: be flawed.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess you wonder as well exactly how it's
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: going to work. In terms of that testing, it is
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: quite a high volume. Obviously, a participant needs to make
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: sure that they've been tested before they get on the
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: flight I believe, to come into the Northern territory. They
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: then have to complete a further six test. It is
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: a lot of tests.
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: Well, and it's the interesting part about it, PreK is
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: a lot of this has been policy on the fly.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: Now the chiefs that come out and say, yes, you
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: have to be tested before you come to the territory. Okay,
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: that's fine, and then you've got a test in raising
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: once you get here. But then a day or two
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: later they come out and say, oh, once you get
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: to the territory, you have to get tests and return
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: a positive result before you can go into home quarantine.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: So the gold past has shifted again. And then a
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: day or two after that, I think in the first release, oh,
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: you should be able to catch a cab to wherever
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: you're going. A day or two later that blows up
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: and is that the fact that now we're going to
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: have COVID ubers and COVID taxis that you'll have to
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: use to move around. So there's a lot of thought
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: and detail hasn't been I suppose considered. And this is
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: bread butter stuff. Can this is really really simple things
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: if you're looking at a testing regime and setting something
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: up that that just haven't been addressed.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Bill, I know that self tests, those rapid self antigen
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: nasal kits have become available from today in pharmacies across
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Australia for testing of people aged eighteen years in older
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: colds and woolies have confirmed that they will stop the
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: tests as well as major pharmacies in all states except
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: WA and South Australia.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: I'm not one hundred percent sure at this.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Stage whether they are indeed going to be available or
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: accessible here in the Northern Territory, but do you think
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: we'll get to the point where that's the go where
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: you are still where obviously you know they're still expecting
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: those six tests, but we could utilize in some way
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: those home testing kits.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: Well. We actually asked us during a brief in CADI
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: a little while ago with the Deputy Chief help Officer,
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: because they were using rapid engine testing out how it
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: springs there for a little bit and switched across the PCR.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: The PCR testing which is currently used is certainly more sensitive.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: It can pick up COVID before you're actually show any
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: symptoms and before you're actually contagious and transmitting it. So
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: that's the upside of the PCR. But the rapid engine
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: testing will give you a quick response to do you
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: have COVID or not? And we need to ask about
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: that the rapid engine testing here for the testing regimes
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: and the territory at this side A deafinitly chief help
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: officer had said that they weren't considering it. They were
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: going to stick with the PCR testing. That's fine as
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: long as we've got the testing capability within our laboratories.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: We keep getting told that we had, but really, when
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: the pressure is on, are we going to have it,
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: particularly for our springs, because I believe our testing has
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: to go from here to Darwin. Yeah right, you test here,
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: then it's going to go on a plane Darwin, and
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: then it's going to get to the lab and then
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: you've got to get your result back. So that certainly
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: has a delay in the testing capability for us here
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: in Central Australia.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a very good point and a point well
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: worth making, I reckon Bill, I wasn't aware of that
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: that those tests had to be sent here to Darwin.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: And you wonder what kind of impact that could potentially
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: have if you've got someone, let's say, who's quarantining at
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: home with their family, but their family, as we know,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: as part of this trial or as part of these tests,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: isn't forced to actually stay at home. They're able to
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: continue about their daily routines. So you do wonder what
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: impact that delay to those testing results could potentially have
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: if any Yeah, what I's.
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: Like is that the people staying in the house, we're
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: allowed to move around. They're just going to comply the
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: testing regime. But I suppose one thing that the government
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: hasn't come out and said or answered to anybody is
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: what happened if someone on the home quarantine control test
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: positively COVID? What's their next step there? So that might
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: be something that they might be thinking about. They might
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: not have thought about, but certainly something they should be
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: considering in something that territories probably need to know as well. Yeah,
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: they're going to be moved to a quarantine facility well
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: out of home quarantine, particularly if they've been in contact
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: with family members. What's going to happen there. So these
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: are questions that people need to know their answers to it,
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: particularly coming up to Christians Pati. People want some certainty.
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: We need to know what's going on.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, and questions well worth asking, Bill before I
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: let you go. We know that were we caught up
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: with the Lord Mayor of Darwin convat Scarlets just a
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: bit earlier this morning, following on from that incident at
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: the Greek church yesterday which allegedly saw the mayor you
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: opposition leader Leah Finorchiaro heckled and verbally abused at that
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: service at the Saint Nicholas Church in Darwin, CBD. Bill,
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: what was your reaction upon seeing I know that there
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: is Vision which is doing the rounds at this point,
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: what was your reaction to that situation?
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, I've seen the Vision CADI and I've been
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: in contact with Leah, and look, Lee done an outstanding job.
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: She actually didn't, I suppose, didn't run away from those
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: tough questions. She stood there, she listened to the people.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: Those people had legitimate questions. Lea's stood there and listened
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: to the people in a really, really tough situation is
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: something that the government's not doing They're hiding away from everybody.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: They don't want to come out and have those tough
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: discussions and have those tough conversations with people. But credit
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: to Leah. She listened to people, she took what they
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: said on board. Really really tough situation and it's something
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: that no one ever really wants to be in. It's
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: always really difficult. And I said, I've had the same
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: issues over the last four or five weeks, and everywhere
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: you go you have really really difficult conversations with people
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: and you need to be able to listen to them,
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: listen to their points of view, provide what advice you can.
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: And Leah did that yesterday and credit to her for
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: doing that well.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Bill Yan, the member for Anama Jira but also the
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: opposition spokesperson when it comes to health, we really appreciate
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: your time this morning.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having a chat with us.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: Jeers Kattie, thank you, thank you.