Northern Victoria Region
Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (12:40): (1744) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health. I have met with several Northern Victoria constituents, parents concerned about their children’s health: kids testing COVID negative on RATs but with the dreaded cold- and flu-like symptoms excluding them from receiving timely medical care. Exhibiting one or more generic COVID symptoms means they cannot see a GP at their local clinic. Because they have a runny nose or a temperature, they are considered a risk; they cannot be seen. They are too sick to go to school yet not allowed to receive medical care. One parent resorted to taking their child to the local emergency department after a week of her child’s non-COVID-related symptoms escalating. They found the child had an extreme ear infection that would have been treated earlier if they had been allowed to see their local GP. It seems to me that some of our youngest are physically suffering because of a fear of runny noses, itchy throats and temperatures. Minister, will you update the COVID guidance to allow northern Victorians, especially children, to be able to see their GP in a timely fashion?