Covid patients who don’t register rapid antigen test results will be FINED $1000 in NSW

Covid patients who don’t register positive rapid antigen test results will be fined $1000 in NSW – even though the Premier admits it will be difficult to enforce.  

Dominic Perrottet announced the major change on Wednesday morning, with residents now required to log results on the Service NSW app within 24 hours.

Positive test results can be uploaded from January 1. Mr Perrottet said there will be a ‘grace period’ for fines, with the penalties kicking in in seven days. 

It comes amid reports the government is planning to hand out RATs at schools and will potentially introduce a Dine & Discover-style voucher program for residents to buy tests.   

Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said more than 2,900 people had already reported their rapid test results since 9am on Wednesday.

When asked why the government took so long to create their own testing system compared to other states, Mr Dominello said it was because the NSW system was more complex.

‘Most other places simply have a web form. We’re connecting it to the app because once we connect it to that app, we can then connect you healthcare services as well, and that’s the key feature of what we’re doing here in NSW,’ he said.

‘We are basically stratifying those who have Covid into two categories. Those with low risk and those with high risk.’

The premier said PCR tests will continue to be used alongside rapid tests amid the surge in cases, admitting that reporting RAT results would be hard to enforce in some areas.

‘There are obviously areas right across the state where there are laws that are harder to enforce than others – this is clearly one that will be harder to enforce, there’s no doubt about it,’ he said.  

But he said he expected everyone in the state to upload their results. 

Mr Perrottet said the government had secured a stockpile of 100million RATs which will be primarily used in healthcare, education, in vulnerable communities, and housing.

It’s understood the premier is looking at supplying free rapid tests at schools as students return to their desks for Term 1. These tests could also be provided to parents. 

A Dine and Discover voucher style system may also be able to be used to go towards purchasing rapid tests at pharmacies, the premier said, but a plan is yet to be revealed.

The NSW government is also looking at unveiling an economic package to help those struggling amid the Omicron outbreak, with the state recording another 34,759 new cases and 21 deaths on Wednesday.

In NSW, there are 2,242 coronavirus patients in hospital (up from 2,186 on Tuesday) and 175 residents in intensive care. 

It comes after primary school-aged children aged between five and 11 years on Monday began receiving their first dose of a special Pfizer vaccination.

Mr Perrottet remains committed to getting children back in classrooms later this month, despite a recommended eight-week gap between the first and second doses for this cohort.

More than 78 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 are already fully vaccinated. 

More to come