When Nimbin Emporium owner Sue Churchill arrived at work this morning, there were 140 enquiries on the answering machine asking if the local business had any Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) in stock.

Her answer to that burning question is - yes. In fact, they have quite a good supply.

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In hope of slowing down the number phone enquiries, Sue contacted the Lismore App with the good news that the local Nimbin supermarket can now help the community.

 “We ordered well before Christmas because we saw it was going to be problem,” Sue said. “Now, finally they have come in at the end of January.

“We committed a huge amount of management resources to sourcing RAT supplies.

:We had to pay up front for them - it’s been lots of money out of our cash flow.

“Now, we are relieved they are here, but we won’t have them long. We don’t want to sit on them while people out there desperately need to know if they have Covid."

Sue said the Emporium has been buying RATS for months, and often, if they order 200 of them – they might only get 20.

“So, we order more because we really don’t know how many we will actually get.

“We want the community to know we can look after them.

RATs, RATs everywhere?

“The government says the RATs are available everywhere, but the reality is they are not around.

“The government’s testing mandate hasn’t been matching up with supply and demand – it’s been an awful situation for the entire population.”

How to find a RAT

Sue said when she checked the Find a RAT website (https://findarat.com.au/) at the end of last week, the Nimbin Emporium was the only place listed as having them locally.

Now, she says it’s likely it’s the only place that has them.

The Lismore App checked the Find a RAT website today, and no local locations are listed as having RATs.

The Lismore App rang local Blooms and Chempro chemists and was told there were none currently in stock.

Free and paid RATs

Sue said if you rock up to the Emporium, the price you will pay for a two pack of RATs will be higher than it was when the shop first started ordering them.

“Our prices reflect what we have paid for them,” Sue said.

“The government might say they should be under $10 each, but you can’t order them wholesale for that price.

“They are also supposed to be rolled out for free to pension card holders today, but the chemist in Kyogle has a sign up saying they have no RATs.”

Where are the free RATs?

The Lismore App rang State MP Janelle Saffin to find out where the free RATs are.

Ms Saffin she is still waiting to get clear details from the government about the supplies.

“MPs still haven’t been told,” she said. “I found out from the Pharmacy Guild which includes 5500 chemists in Australia that are not part of big chains - and they say 700 chemists got them nationwide.

“But people are still telling me they are hard to get.

“The Pharmacy Guild is now running a campaign to get them more widely distributed.

“If it’s a pandemic and a health issue, then why not run them through the pharmacies?

“It’s so hit and miss finding one – sometimes I’ve found some in a supermarket, then I tell people and there are quickly none left.

“It’s just a mess.”