Covid tests being flown interstate for diagnosis as Sydney is swamped by surge in numbers

With daily tests in NSW hovering around 100,000, pathology turnaround times are being pushed back as residents wait in isolation

Tens of thousands of Covid nasal test swabs are being put on planes and flown from hotspots in New South Wales to be processed in Brisbane and other cities, with labs in Sydney still drowning" from record testing turnouts that have led to result wait times of up to 10 days.

As daily testing numbers hover around 100,000 in NSW, a backlog in processing swabs in Sydney continues to force people into isolation, with Guardian Australia aware of an essential worker abandoning their vaccine appointment as they await a negative result.