Over-Priced RATs Are Now Being Flogged On Tinder And Uber Eats
Test kits are being slung for up to $230 online.
If you needed any more reason to lose faith in the Australian government’s ability to get us through this pandemic in one piece, rapid antigen tests (RATs) — AKA the thing Scott Morrison still refuses to fund — are now being price-gouged on Uber Eats, of all places.
The COVID situation in Australia has grown even direr — with some 35,000 cases in New South Wales and 17,000 cases in Victoria today alone — which means that lining up for a traditional PCR test isn’t exactly practical in most situations. But if you thought that meant you could just zip down to your local Chemist Warehouse and pick up a 5-pack of RATs for your family, think again because you might need to sell a kidney first.
After weeks of calls for the government to make rapid antigen tests free and readily available for all who need it, leaders are still piss-farting around with an “affordable” RAT plan that will be presented to National Cabinet on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, Australians are still left fighting for the last remaining rapid antigen tests, which now retail for upwards of $30 per test at retailers like BP.
According to one social media user, a five-pack of RATs were retailing for a jaw-dropping $229 on Amazon on Tuesday.
But if you thought it was a little morally ambiguous for random stores like Harvey Norman and Kogan to be jumping on the RAT bandwagon to turn a profit off Australians’ medical misfortunes, it’s also worth noting that restaurants have now joined in on the fun, too.
One social media user reported Big Grill Bolivar — a South Australian burger shop — selling single RATs on Uber Eats for$50 each.
Not even a joke. RESTAURANTS buying up RATs and selling them on UBER for x5 of the RRP.
You should be able to buy a 5 pack for roughly $50, not a single test.
Still don’t want to undercut businesses @ScottMorrisonMP when they are PUTTING LIVES AT RISK by this practice? pic.twitter.com/tO32jJ8Cnf
— B (@Brodhe) January 4, 2022
Oh, and let’s not forget to pour one out for the “Good Samaritan” who is reportedly flogging rapid antigen tests on Tinder.
When the government fails, tinder softbois step up pic.twitter.com/8BMzyMBJi6
— Kishor (@kishor_nr) January 5, 2022
All of this could’ve been avoided if the government simply purchased the tests wholesale and provided them to the public as part of Medicare. But will that ever happen? Your guess is as good as mine.
Junkee has reached out to Big Grill Bolivar for comment.