The rate of COVID-19 tests in the Wimmera has increased as the New South Wales border closure came into effect this week.
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Wimmera Health Care Group (WHCG) said it conducted 79 tests on New Year's day, 91 tests on January 2, and 89 tests on January 3. This is up from an average of 10 per day in the last week of 2020.
Testing was predominantly related to people visiting hot spots in Melbourne or Sydney.
A spokesman for WHCG said there was a high turn out for testing in the area.
"We had people queued up, and we kept the clinic open longer for the day when the numbers were heavy rather than shut the doors at 12 o'clock," the spokesman said.
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"We really appreciate the fact that people have come and got tested and they're doing the right thing to keep the community safe.
"We want people coming in to get tested, it doesn't matter how mild their symptoms are, we want them to come in and get tested, especially if they've been to any of those spots that the health department have declared as hot spots or red zones."
Under new limitations introduced at the start of the year, people can only visit the hospital for one hour at a time, with no more than two visitors altogether during the visiting period of 3 - 7pm.
The Victorian government required anybody returning from the NSW Green Zone before December 31, 2020, to get tested and self-isolate at home until they received a negative test result.
Any Victorian that arrived after that time and before 11:59pm January 1, 2021 was required to get tested and self-isolate at home for 14 days.
WHCG have a COVID-19 community testing clinic on Read Street, Horsham, near the Wimmera Base Hospital. The clinic is open daily from 9am to 12pm.
