Bass Coast Health offers more testing services to stay the course

As daily average cases of COVID-19 drop and restrictions ease in Victoria, Bass Coast Health has

increased testing services for the region as a concerted effort to stave off future outbreaks.

Bass Coast Health is calling on the whole community to build on eight months of effort and “Get

Tested”. Bass Coast Health offers testing for all individuals with symptoms, for workers in high risk areas

(e.g. health, aged care, food processing) that are asymptomatic as directed by the Victorian

Government, and patients prior to operations.

In the past two weeks Melbourne’s daily average of COVID-19 cases has stayed well below 10 and below

0.5 in regional Victoria. Testing is paramount to inform public health decisions that will enable a return

to services and community activity, and importantly to manage the virus long term.

Since the commencement of COVID-19 testing on 14 March 2020 until 18 October 2020, Bass Coast

Health has undertaken 11,454 tests.

Quotes attributable to Jan Child, CEO Bass Coast Health:

Singularly, the most important thing everyone can do, is to get tested, and to encourage anyone we

know who has the slightest of symptoms, to get tested.

The symptoms of COVID-19 can be varied from person to person, some people have all the symptoms,

some just one or two symptoms, and some people who test positive have no symptoms. Even if you

have just one symptom you should still be tested. Testing ensures that you get the best care if you test

positive and you can protect your family and friends.

Our testing numbers are steady. As restrictions ease we expect to see more people present from outside

of the region and from metropolitan Melbourne. We will continue to monitor demand for the service.

We have observed tremendous effort to respond to the risk of COVID-19 and I commend everyone in

this region for their tenacity. Despite our preparedness, Bass Coast Health is in the lap of the community.

Bass Coast Health is counting on community members to continue to maintain safety mechanisms;

physical distance, wash hands often, wear masks and avoid crowds. Importantly we need to be kind to

ourselves and others, and this will see us through.