South Australia's largest COVID drive-through testing site will make way for the Adelaide 500 as more vulnerable people will be able to test for different viruses at once.
The COVID drive-through site at Victoria Park Pakapakanthi will close at 9am on July 1 while the new location — Edwards Park on Anzac Highway in the Adelaide CBD — will open at the same time.
The move is to accommodate the return of the Adelaide 500 in the summer months, scrapped by the former Liberal government in 2020 and revived by Labor with a $15 million pledge.
The Edwards Park site will have the same staff and operate at the same capacity, with the option to expand to the nearby Josie Agius Park [Wikaparntu Wirra/Park 22] if required.
The new testing site will only open from 9am to 10.30pm following reports that an average of 19 people are being swabbed between midnight and 6am each day at the Victoria Park site.
Health Minister Chris Picton said the Victoria Park drive-through site has been pivotal in managing the state's COVID-19 response.
"This site has played a major role in the response to the pandemic, helping SA Pathology to deliver close to four million COVID-19 PCR tests in South Australia," Mr Picton said.
Meanwhile, from 12.01am on Saturday, masks will no longer be required to be worn at Adelaide Airport.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee said this week masks are no longer mandatory in airport terminals but are strongly recommended.
Masks are still required on board aircraft.
Test can detect 12 different viruses
SA Pathology has doubled its multi-virus testing from 500 to 1,000 a day to support doctors to give early diagnosis and treatment to at-risk patients.
Tests are available at drive-through testing clinics and at private pathologies with a GP referral, which can also be obtained via telehealth.
Health Minister Chris Picton said multi-virus testing has been available since the start of the pandemic, but spiking flu cases have prompted health authorities to provide more testing.
"This means that people would be able to find out if they've got any of one of these 12 different viruses and get the appropriate treatment that they need, particularly if they are an older person or when you've got chronic health conditions," he said.
"That's why we're keen to step up our capability in our laboratories while also making sure we keep a high level of COVID testing and a short turnaround time for those tests as well."
Patients should contact their referring GP for their multi-virus test results, which take up to 24 hours to process.
Multi-virus tests can be bulk-billed while COVID-19 testing remains free and results may take 10 to 12 hours.
The viruses to be tested include COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, bordetella pertussis, influenza A+B, human metapneumovirus, mycoplasma pneumoniae, rhinovirus and parainfluenza 1, 2 and 3.
Mr Picton said not everyone who takes a COVID-19 test will be offered a multi-virus test.
"If we were to change COVID-19 testing to all include influenza as well, then the clear advice is that would hamper our ability to test for a significant number of COVID-19 tests," he said.
"And that would impact our ability if we have significant further waves or new variants to step up to previous level of COVID-19 testing simply because we won't have the laboratory capacity to be able to do both through SA Pathology.
"A key part of this is making sure we continue our COVID testing capability and make sure those tests are as quick and available as possible."
Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said people in a high-risk group will benefit most from early anti-viral treatments.
"If you have symptoms and are in a high-risk group that will benefit from flu treatments, you should speak to your GP about a combined COVID-19 and flu test," she said.
"This will ensure that you can access COVID-19 or flu treatments quickly."
