Australia Politician Shares S’pore’s ART Vending Machine on Twitter to Roast His Own Government

By
Hannah Koh
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How many Antigen Rapid Test (ART) have you taken and how many more kits do you have at home? You probably don’t know because you have lost count.

Evidently, there is no lack of ART kits in Singapore. They have become so easily accessible with pharmacies and vending machines being stocked with them. Every household has even received multiple free ART kits over the course of the pandemic.

However, while we live in confidence of having access to ART kits should we need to swab, the situation differs much overseas.

Twitter Roast

Over in Australia, COVID-19 cases are on the rise with a recent spike in January and yet there is a lack of supply of ART kits.

Anthony Albanese, Leader of the Opposition in Australia, took to his Twitter page to roast the Australian government for its poor handling of the pandemic situation.

Attached to his tweet? A photo of Singapore’s well-stocked ART vending machine.

 “A friend in Singapore sent me this. Rapid tests available in vending machines in packs of five. What happens when a government plans ahead,” Albanese wrote in the clearly targeted tweet. What a burn.

Following Albanese’s tweet, Australians responded in agreement with some commenting “why are we so behind” and others voicing strong opinions about their government’s inability to provide similar facilities in their country.

Even though this appears all too much like a teacher comparing a badly behaved student to a model student, it also means one thing. Recognition of Singapore’s adept ability at responding to COVID-19.

The vending machines in Albanese’s tweet have been available in Singapore since September 2021, when 100 of them were set up at 56 locations around the island, providing Singaporeans with 24/7 access to ART kits.

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Rise in Cases in Australia

In Australia, ARTs have been scarce since Christmas. However, the situation has improved slightly over the past few weeks. The latest data shows around 60 per cent of stores have stock, which is almost triple the level of two weeks ago.

Additionally, the Australian government has announced that it secured more than 80 million ARTs for delivery in January and February.

Due to the nature of Omicron being more transmissive, the country experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases, hitting a record number of 33,161 cases on New Year’s Day.

The sudden spike in cases overwhelmed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing centres before the government changed the default mode of testing to ART kits.

While the transition back to our normal lives may be slow, it is truly a fortunate thing for us to be provided with ample resources to handle the pandemic situation.

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Featured Image: Twitter (Anthony Albanese)

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Hannah Koh
Email: [email protected]