Northern NSW Local Health District Acting Chief Executive Lynne Weir has expressed her gratitude to the regional communities for their ongoing vigilance and quick response to the latest Covid-19 alerts and for coming forward for testing.

While there have been no new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 reported in the Northern NSW Local Health District for 113 days, Ms Weir is urging residents to continue to get tested and help keep regional communities safe.

“It’s important that people come forward at the first sign of any symptoms,” she said.

“That way our contact tracers in NSW Health have the best chance of responding to new cases and we reduce the chance of the virus spreading to others.”

Between July 17 – 20, there were 1511 tests conducted across the four hospital-based testing clinics in the district.

On July 19, the testing clinic at Grafton Base Hospital saw a 67 percent increase in tests compared to July 12 figures.

“People are understandably concerned about the current outbreak and the best thing we can do at the moment is to follow the health advice,” Ms Weir said.

“That means getting tested immediately, self-isolating until you get a negative result, and following the public health measures of hand hygiene, physical distancing, mask wearing, checking-in with QR codes, and limiting visitors to your household or business in line with the current orders.”

Clinic locations and opening hours are listed on the NSW website and there are more than 400 Covid-19 testing locations across the state, many of which are open seven days a week.

Ms Weir is also encouraging eligible residents to come forward to receive their Covid-19 vaccination as soon as possible.

“Vaccination is key to defeating this deadly virus,” she said.

For the latest information, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au

Clarence Valley residents are encouraged to call 1800 438 829 to book an appointment at the Grafton Covid-19 vaccination clinic, located at the Prince St end of the Link Arcade.