Australia to provide Pacific nations rapid COVID-19 test kits

Reuters

Australia will provide Pacific island nations with new rapid diagnostic COVID-19 kits in an initiative with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States and New Zealand, the Australian foreign minister said in early May 2020.

The first kits have arrived in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and supplies will reach nine other Pacific island countries throughout May, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.

The equipment was procured and delivered with Australian support, Payne added.

Many Pacific island countries lacked capacity to test for the novel coronavirus, which emerged from China in late 2019, and had to send specimens overseas, including to Australia.

The kits will allow the WHO to work with Pacific health departments to achieve faster and more effective testing, with results expected in less than an hour, the Australian government said. (Pictured: An Australian medical worker tests for COVID-19 at a drive-through site in Melbourne.)

The Pacific island region has had relatively few cases of COVID-19. People were urged to stay home, with some countries imposing fines and imprisonment for breaching the tough restrictions.

Australia is the largest aid donor to the Pacific islands and has sought to step up its engagement out of concern that it risks being overshadowed by Chinese aid and financial support.

Australia and New Zealand are considering opening their borders to each other, creating what they call a trans-Tasman Sea “travel bubble,” as they look to restart their economies after getting the virus under control.

There is speculation the move could be extended to include other Pacific island nations.