Long queues and closed clinics: Australians with positive rapid antigen tests abandon PCRs

People testing positive to Covid using rapid antigen tests are being turned away from, or are giving up on, getting a PCR test, as the New South Wales government warns that the actual number of Covid cases could be much higher than the 11,201 reported on Wednesday.

Wait times for testing clinics have ballooned across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

Guardian Australia has spoken to people who have developed Covid symptoms after being in contact with a confirmed positive case, or who have a positive rapid antigen test, who have been trying for several days to get a PCR test but have been turned away.

Others were tested before Christmas but are still waiting on their result.

Long queues result in wait times of several hours. Some people had been turned away half an hour after a testing site opened because it was over capacity. At others people camped out overnight to ensure they were at the top of the queue.

Amy McNeilage and her mother both tested positive on a rapid antigen test earlier this week and were finally able to get a PCR test on Wednesday, after driving an hour from north-west Sydney to Lithgow.

The website later marked it as closed. McNeilage and her partner need official confirmation from a PCR test in order to return to their home in Canberra, and to show their employers why they need time off work. They will quarantine in Sydney until cleared to travel.