Family waiting eight days for Covid-19 test results: 'A giant mess'
A Sydney couple has vented their frustration as they enter the eighth day of their wait for Covid-19 test results.
Cissy and her husband Jeff, both 31, were looking forward to celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve with their families when they received devastating news just hours before meeting for dinner.
Cissy, who lives on the the city’s lower North Shore, told Yahoo News Australia she learned on Christmas Eve that her father-in-law had tested positive for Covid — days after he had visited their home and played with her toddler and six-month-old baby.
She said Jeff rushed out to buy rapid antigen tests for the four of them but could only find a single pack with two tests inside.
Her toddler tested positive but she returned a negative result so they all jumped in the car and had PCR tests done at the Royal North Shore Hospital.
Her two-year-old’s positive test was returned on Monday, but the rest have yet to be notified of their results.
“Today at 4pm we’re rolling into the eighth day,” she said.
“It’s all just a giant mess.”
In the early morning hours of Wednesday morning, Cissy said she had to rush her baby back to the hospital after he developed a fever and he was tested again on the spot.
PM calls for Covid 'recalibration', touts reduced severity of Omicron
New change to isolation rules as PM faces heat on rapid test claim
Omicron cases explode as NSW reports 21,151 infections on NYE
“We received his positive result less than 12 hours later, which makes the seven plus day wait for our original PCR tests even more ridiculous,” she said.
The mum said she and her husband have since developed symptoms and assume they are positive for Covid so they’ve all been isolating.
“From the moment I heard my father-in-law was positive, I just knew we were all going to get it,” she said.
“The government didn’t help us by giving us answers so I accepted defeat.
“Luckily we were responsible and we didn’t take any risks.”
Cissy said the entire experience has been “frustrating” after an already difficult lockdown, during which she juggled two young kids as her husband worked.
“Now we are spending Christmas and New Years again under lockdown conditions, mentally and physically exhausted caring for our young children,” the 31-year-old said.
“We never got to spend any time with our relatives. We never got to celebrate or relax.
“When our isolation period ends, so does the holiday and my husband is back to work and grandparents are back to work so they can’t help with the children.”
New change to isolation rules
Less than a day after announcing new Covid guidelines, the federal government has scrapped the need for infected people to take a day-six rapid test.
On Friday the government announced positive cases - regardless of vaccination status - will be able to leave isolation seven days after their positive test.
They will now not need to take a rapid test on day six to leave isolation.
But if a positive case still has symptoms on day seven, they should remain in isolation.
With AAP
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
