Australian capital launches COVID-19 testing blitz

The territory government on Thursday announced in a press release on its website that any residents with COVID-19 symptoms will be eligible for testing for 14 days from Friday.

The testing will be conducted at two clinics, one of which is a drive-through facility, and everyone who is tested will be required to self-isolate until they receive a negative result.

The ACT government is optimistic that the program will provide a clearer picture of whether there is widespread community transmission of the virus in Canberra, Australia's capital city.

Rachel Stephen-Smith, the territory's Health Minister, said that she was not expecting the blitz to uncover a large number of cases.

"This increased testing will give us some really valuable information as we make decisions about the way forward," she said.

"Canberrans have been doing an incredible job in helping us stop the spread of COVID-19 and we have now only uncovered one confirmed case in the past nine days," said the minister.

In total it has had 104 diagnosed cases, the second-fewest of any state or territory, and three deaths.

The blitz represents the most radical expansion of the ACT's testing regime, which has been slowly expanded since mid-March.

Authorities began randomly testing residents on April 6 but none of the 221 random tests conducted as of Wednesday had returned positive results.

South Australia (SA) has already begun a similar testing blitz that has resulted in more than 2,000 tests being conducted every day.