COVID-19 should be taken off mandatory testing for those who may have spread disease to cops: Report finds

COVID-19 should no longer be considered an infectious disease covered under mandatory testing laws against those who may have spread disease to police officers during arrest, a review has found.

A report into the Mandatory Testing (Infectious Diseases) Bill 2014 and subsequent 2020 amendment — which added COVID-19 as a testable infectious disease in response to the pandemic — was released on Thursday.

The review — mandated to occur five years after the law is in operation — made a number of recommendations, including removing COVID-19 as an infectious disease needing to be tested for.

While not considered necessary anymore, the report noted it was “efficient and suitable” at the time.

But later in the paper it pointed out the disease is now rarely tested for.

“An overwhelming majority of submissions to the Consultation Paper supported the removal of COVID-19 from the legislation,” it read.

“As of late 2021, no tests for COVID-19 were being recorded. It is evident that testing for this disease is no longer prioritised or required.”

The review also noted issues in accessing data from test results, making it difficult to understand how effective the testing regime was.

“Restrictions on the disclosure of test results hindered a transparent evaluation of the effectiveness of the legislation,” it read.

“The Act could not be assessed against its stated purpose due to the inability to access or assess data regarding the impact of test results on treatment decisions.”

If adopted, the laws would return to just covering HIV as well as Hepatitis B and C.