By Jamie Salter
Officer Sikh Temple Gurudwara Siri Guru Nanak Darbar is supporting Cardinia and Casey residents by providing rapid antigen tests (RAT) to those in need.
The temple received about 500 RAT kits from Victoria’s Government Department of Health and Monash Health, offering a pick-up and delivery service to local community members.
“This is a free service from Gurudwara, not even a cent is charged,“ Gurdwara spokesperson Harpreet Kandra said.
“When they come, they call the Gurudwara number and say they are 15 minutes away, then they park their car, pick up the test with their name on it and go.“
Out of the 500 tests received, the Gurudwara has delivered about 400 and is still distributing up to 40 tests a day.
A strict criteria has been implemented to ensure not a single test will go to waste and temple staff are currently trying to procure more rapid antigen tests from the Department of Health.
Mr Kandra said a hurdle in the process has been the procedure of acquiring rapid tests from overseas.
“I have a lot of people in India who are ready to send tests certified by the Therapeutic Goods Administration here but the problem is we’re not getting much clarity from the government,“ he said.
“If we could get help with that, it would be really great.“
