Saturday morning started bright and early for many Launceston locals, with the opening of a RAT pickup site at Silverdome.
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Opening from 8am until 4pm, RATs will only be available from the pickup site for people with COVID-19 symptoms or close contacts of confirmed cases.
Early on Saturday morning, the queue for the pickup site had extended down Westbury Road and Tasmania Police was helping control traffic.
However, around 11am Tasmania Police confirmed they were no longer at the scene.
Premier Peter Gutwein said that Tasmania continues to average 5000 PCR tests a day, and across the state handed out approximately 9000 RATs yesterday.
"These collection points are not for people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19 and have not been deemed a close contact of a positive case," Mr Gutwein said.
"So please do not turn up unless you are symptomatic or a close contact."
People in rural or regional areas who are in need of a RAT, can contact the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.
Mr Gutwein said the government would identify additional options to access a free RAT in regional areas in the coming days.
"These are challenging times and I know that many in the community are feeling anxious, but this is what we've been preparing for and is the reason we are highly vaccinated, with a well prepared health system," Mr Gutwein said.
"We will continue to keep Tasmanians informed at every step moving forward as the pandemic continues to evolve."
RATs are now available to symptomatic people or close contacts at the following sites from 8am-4pm:
- MyState Bank Arena, Hobart
- Rokeby Police Academy, Hobart
- Silverdome, Launceston
- Ulverstone Sports Centre
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