Hello. It's Tuesday, January 18 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
One thing you should know
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia says it will launch its own website to help people find out which stores have stock of rapid antigen COVID tests.
Guild president Trent Twomey said social media and alternative websites were "causing more harm than good" for consumers trying to find a RAT:
- the website is expected to go live next Monday
- rapid antigen tests remain hard to find in stores across Australia
- investigations are commencing into reports of price gouging.
Health Minister Greg Hunt says 70 million test kits are expected in the "coming weeks and months", but Professor Twomey says it wasn't until late December that national cabinet formed a consensus view to "acknowledge rapid antigen tests" — and, by then, it was too late.
What else is going on
- MP Brad Hazzard says he's the victim of a fraudulent COVID-19 test report after getting a notification from NSW Health that someone had registered a positive rapid antigen test under his name. Mr Hazzard says whoever had made the fake report with his details was "juvenile" and "moronic", and that police would "come hunting" for anyone who misrepresents information to NSW Health
- Private hospitals could shortly be called on to take public patients to help manage COVID pressures on the health system. The federal government is re-activating an agreement established earlier in the pandemic that supports private hospitals switching to providing services to public patients and expanding intensive care capacity
What Australia has been searching for online
- Victoria's Code Brown. The statewide declaration will come into effect tomorrow, meaning leave will be postponed for thousands of staff and non-essential services will be deferred. A Code Brown is usually reserved for external emergencies such as natural disasters or mass casualty events, but the state's Acting Health Minister says the system is bucking under the Omicron COVID-19 wave
- Daria Saville. The Aussie tennis player (formerly Daria Gavrilova — she recently got married to fellow professional tennis player Luke Saville) has lost her first-round Australian Open match 6-2, 6-3 after returning to the court from major surgery last year. Meanwhile, Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis has sent 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez packing in a major upset.
One more thing
What's wrong with this picture?
Adelaide's "googly eyed bandits" are back again — today adding a little extra pizzazz to the city's statue of city planner Colonel William Light.
Googly eyes have appeared on a Dan Murphy's sign in Welland, a picture of Colonel Sanders on a KFC restaurant bucket in Eastwood, and a Jim's handyman van all in the past few weeks, but who's actually putting them on there remains a mystery.
ABC Radio Adelaide roving reporter Troy Sincock says googly eye-ing Light's Vision would be "like the crowning glory for these pranksters".
Even News Breakfast's Adelaide Reporter Charles Brice jumped on the trend:
With everything else going on right now, Adelaide residents appear to be getting a laugh out of it.
"In all of the madness happening right now, I'm glad they have found a way to bring a giggle to people," one person wrote on ABC Adelaide's Facebook page.
You're up to date
We'll see you tomorrow.
PS -
If you haven't already today, Google Betty White. It would have been her 100th birthday on the 17th and there's a sweet little tribute if you catch it in time.
ABC/wires
