In the last week the Hunter’s Covid-19 testing clinics have been hit by a massive surge in demand, with 40,000 locals lining up to get a swab.
Wait times hours long have not deterred the community from doing their bit to stop the spread, with the Hunter New England cluster reaching 39 on Tuesday.
Sites in Lake Macquarie and Newcastle have seen the biggest turn out, with 16,540 tests for Lake Mac and 10,576 for Newcastle.
Maitland recorded upwards of 6,588 over the same period.
While Port Stephens and Cessnock racked up 2,577 and 1,850 tests respectively, and 1,037 were carried out in Singleton.
Hunter New England Health say delays in getting results back from private pathology labs is the only problem yet to be ironed out, and that the testing figures are likely to be even higher.
Yesterday NSW Chief health Officer Dr Kerry Chant thanked the Hunter Region for the way it was responding to the outbreak and urged the community to keep testing rates high to contain the spread of the virus.
Anyone waiting for test results is urged to be patient and remain isolated until they receive a negative result.
