Demand for COVID-19 testing in Wagga has increased over the past few weeks due to potential exposure locations for the Delta strain in Hay and Gundagai, along with Orange being put into lockdown.

A Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) spokesperson said the organisation had the ability to increase its testing operation to meet demand.

"MLHD would like to sincerely thank everyone who has put themselves forward for testing," the spokesperson said.

"The MLHD Testing Clinic has seen an increase in demand and is currently testing about 100 people each day.

"We appreciate the community's support and patience as the state's health system continues to put all resourcing possible towards fighting this latest outbreak.

"MLHD has the ability to flex up testing capacity to meet demand as needed and we will continue to closely monitor the demand for testing and work with private pathology providers to ensure members of the community have access to testing clinics as quickly as possible."

The privately run drive-through clinic at the Wagga Beach car park has seen long queues at times, which have resulted in some drivers pulling out and driving away rather than continue waiting.

Adding to the issue are people who have tried to get appointments at other clinics and been recommended to attend the Wagga Beach drive-through, which does not require bookings.

Laverty Pathology operates the Wagga Beach clinic along with about 45 other pop-up drive-through testing sites across NSW.

"Given the current situation, there has been a huge surge in COVID-19 testing in NSW, at times reaching record levels," a Laverty spokesperson said.

Wagga's walk-in and drive-through clinics

"Our dedicated frontline and laboratory staff continue to work around the clock to provide critical testing to the communities of NSW, as we have done over the last 18 months."

The MLHD spokesperson said as of yesterday there had been no further cases of COVID-19 identified in the health district and the total number of positive COVID-19 results since the start of the pandemic in 2020 remained at 60.

"MLHD encourages anyone with even the mildest symptoms of COVID-19 to come forward for testing," the spokesperson said.

"Early detection of the virus is critical to responding quickly and restricting community transmission."

In other news

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday declared that the spread of the highly contagious Delta strain of coronavirus in parts of Sydney was a "national emergency" and called for essential workers in south-west and western suburbs to be given vaccine priority.

"If we want to contain this virus and stop it seeping into other areas of Greater Sydney, stop it impacting on our freedom and economy but also stop it from spreading into other states, we need to have a discussion on refocusing the national vaccination strategy," she said.

Ms Berejiklian also repeated her intention to stop the virus spreading from Sydney to regional areas.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said vaccination clinics will be able to increase the time between shots of Pfizer to allow more people to get their first dose.

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