PEOPLE queued up for almost five hours on Wednesday to snap up a rapid antigen test from a Warrnambool chemist.
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A staff member from Chemist Warehouse Warrnambool Central told The Standard the delivery of kits was expected at 10am but did not arrive until around 12.45pm.
Some customers sat on chairs while they waited. Just more than 100 two-packs were available to purchase.
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Annette Doyle from Port Fairy, who works in Warrnambool, was in the line at Coles-Younger Car Park from 9am.
Ms Doyle said she was buying the test so she could go to New South Wales to visit her brother who was sick.
"I want to take a test beforehand for peace of mind," she said.
"I never envisaged this. I had no intentions of lining up to get a RAT, but I have come to terms that it's what you have to do."
Ms Doyle had called various stores in the region to source a test.
Another person who waited in line for hours was Warrnambool resident Joanne Francis, who was in line from 9.30am.
Ms Francis said she was purchasing a test for her husband because he needed to get tested to work in Albury.
"He needs to go to Albury for work in dairy pharmaceuticals and will need to test before he goes and when he wants to come back," she said.
Both had also visited the chemist's Gateway Plaza store to see if any stock was available. Both had been trying to access the tests for two days.
Ten people were allowed inside the store at one time to complete their purchase as staff conducted crowd control.
A staff member told The Standard kits sold out about 1.30pm, with customers only allowed to purchase one pack, in line with the government mandate.
"People were waiting outside from 8am," she said.
"The truck was expected to arrive at 10am but he was running late and only arrived at 12.45pm."
The employee said they let customers know when stock was available, but said people found out through word-of-mouth among customers.
"The hardest thing today was turning people away," she said. "It was a tough day."
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