Man charged after faking COVID test result, forcing worksite to close

A man has been charged after he allegedly sent a fake positive COVID text to a group chat, forcing a Dubbo worksite to be suspended for the day.

According to police, the man underwent a COVID test on Thursday and received a text message notifying him of a negative result about 6am on Friday.

The man then allegedly altered the message to display a positive result before sending it to a group chat, where one of the men notified his workplace believing he was a close contact.

As a result, the worksite was suspended work for the day, with all workers told to get tested for the virus.

Police were notified of the incident a short time later and launched an investigation.

Following inquiries, the man was charged through a Court Attendance Notice with false representation resulting in police investigation.

He’s due to appear in Dubbo Local Court on Monday 27 September.