Rapid antigen tests are also unlikely to be made freely available when bulk shipments first arrive in Shepparton later this week.
Health services across the Goulburn Valley have had on-again off-again clinical services since the pandemic started, but GV Health chief executive Matt Sharp said the shortage of staff and cancellation of services was going to get “really pronounced in the not-too-distant future”.
He again urged people not to come to the emergency department or call for an ambulance unless it was an emergency.
Last week, Mr Sharp said GV Health was short some 150 full-time staffing positions, while another 50 or 60 staff are furloughed.
“We are already pretty stretched from a workforce point of view,” he said.
“Please don’t use our emergency department as the first port of call in the coming weeks and probably into February and beyond.
“We want to preserve that capacity for not only COVID-positive patients, but people who do still have a road accident or those sorts of things like a heart attack or stroke.”
Mr Sharp again urged people to prepare for the eventuality of having a COVID-19 case in their house.
There are currently 445 active cases of coronavirus in Shepparton, with 354 new cases across the entire local public health area — 170 of those in Shepparton.
"As we were expecting, the number of cases are starting to increase quite significantly and quite rapidly,“ he said.
Mr Sharp said about 50 per cent of the new cases on Tuesday were people who were self-reporting a rapid antigen test result.
However, the rollout of rapid antigen tests were being prioritised in metropolitan Melbourne early this week.
“Probably later this week or into next week I think will be when we'll start to receive that supply and the RAT kits to support the work of our local public health unit and testing sites,” Mr Sharp said.
“I think it's a really important thing (to note) that they won't be readily available or freely available.
“These will be prioritised for supply for people who are showing signs and symptoms, but then also need to go on to some type of surveillance program as well to allow them to return to work.”
Victoria recorded 13 deaths and nearly 38,000 cases on Tuesday.
People seeking PCR tests will be able to get them earlier from Wednesday, with the Shepparton Showgrounds site to open from 7am to 3.30pm.
Hours at the Graham St, Shepparton, clinic remain unchanged.
“The reason we’re doing that is because with a warmer weather, we know that people sitting in cars during that hotter part of the afternoon is a problem for people who may not be well,” Mr Sharp said.
He also said it would provide relief for staff working under multiple layers of PPE in the heat.
Mr Sharp said the McIntosh Centre would be taking occasion walk-ins for booster shots at the end of the day if people had cancelled or missed bookings, and encouraged people to keep an eye on the GV Health Facebook page in the afternoons.
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