OVER 3000 COVID-19 tests have been administered to residents across the Western NSW Local Health District since last Thursday with 2200 of them in Dubbo alone.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The response comes after two confirmed cases of COVID-19 travelled through the region while potentially infections from June 1 to June 5.
They stopped overnight in Dubbo on June 3, visiting eight venues around the city while they were here.
There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the health district since the couples trip, with NSW Health saying on Tuesday there were no new locally acquired cases up until 8pm on Monday night.
Western NSW Local Health District Chief Executive Scott McLachlan said the communities of Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Forbes and Parkes have really rallied behind the call to come forward for testing.
"Our healthcare teams, along with great support from Laverty Pathology and Histopath, have also done an incredible job standing up the testing clinics so quickly, and in some challenging circumstances given the weather in some parts of the district.
From Thursday, June 10 through to Monday, June 14, there were around 2200 tests performed in Dubbo, 200 at Coonabarabran, 550 in Forbes and 175 in Parkes.
"I'm really proud that when we have circumstances like this that both our communities and our healthcare workers, are really well prepared to swing into action and do what's needed to help identify and respond to any threat from COVID-19," Mr McLachlan said.
"This may well not be the last time that we see a case of COVID-19 in or coming through our district, so it's important we keep that alertness and momentum going."
"If you experience symptoms associated with COVID-19, arrange to get a test; continue to practice good protection measures including hand hygiene, physical distancing and checking into shops and venues; and make arrangements to be vaccinated as soon as you can.
Our healthcare teams, along with great support from Laverty Pathology and Histopath, have also done an incredible job.
- Western NSW Local Health District Chief Executive Scott McLachlan
Mr McLachlan said the situation shows the community are doing their bit, and healthcare teams will be ready if there are similar situations in the future.
While pop-up testing clinics will close in the coming days, there are a number of places to get tested should you have symptoms.
Symptoms associated with COVID-19 include fever, cough, breathing difficulties, sore throat, loss of smell or taste, runny nose, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
For a full list of testing clinics in NSW check www.nsw.gov.au.
Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News