Maryborough District Health Service (MDHS) has advised the pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic at Lake Victoria in Maryborough will close at 12 noon today, Friday, November 19.

Testing will resume by appointment only at the Florence Lane clinic from this weekend.

The drive-through clinic on Florence Lane will reopen at 10 am on Saturday,  November 20, with entry and exit via Nightingale Street.

The clinic will operate six days a week until further notice. The opening hours are from 10 am to 3.30 pm Monday to Friday, and from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays.

“We opened the pop up clinic at Victoria Lake in the short-term to help meet the increase in demand for COVID-19 testing,” MDHS community nursing team leader Kristen Venn said.

“It was great to see everyone come out in force to get tested while we had a number of active cases of coronavirus in our community.”

MDHS has tested around 1400 people at the pop-up clinic since it opened at the end of October. 

“It’s good to see the service move back to Florence Lane now there is less demand,” Ms Venn said.

“We would like to thank community members for their patience and cooperation over the past few weeks, and acknowledge the effort of all staff who put their hand up to provide a vital service around the clock to keep our community safe.

“We also appreciate the strong support from our partner Central Goldfields Shire Council who worked with us to identify and set up the pop-up site, and provided traffic management to keep everything running smoothly.”

MDHS has introduced a two-step process to streamline bookings and help save time at the testing site.

• Step 1 – Complete the COVID-19 Testing Registration Form by following the links via www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/where-get-tested-covid-19 or the MDHS website

• Step 2 – Phone MDHS on 5461-0300 between 8.30 am and 5 pm to make your appointment at the drive-through clinic.

You must be in a vehicle to be tested. Let the team know if you need any special assistance at the time of booking.

To stay up-to-date on information about the local testing and vaccination clinic visit mdhs.vic.gov. au/covid. Keep an eye on the MDHS Facebook page as services may be scaled up or down at the last minute based on demand.

“It is important that we all continue to get tested at the first sign of symptoms, which may include fever, chills or sweats, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose and loss or change in sense of smell or taste,” Ms Venn said.

For more information about COVID-19 visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au