On Monday, the MLHD listed several Temora and Beckom businesses as venues of concern with casual contact status after an essential worker who visited them tested positive for COVID-19.

On Friday evening, the MLHD's director of public health, Tracey Oakman, said the man has been confirmed negative for COVID-19 and had returned a false positive result.

She thanked the community for coming forward for testing in recent days.

Ms Oakman also confirmed sewerage surveillance testing in Temora will commence next week and is also being conducted at Albury, Deniliquin, Wagga Wagga, West Wyalong and Lake Cargelligo.

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Temora mayor Rick Firman said the community has breathed a collective "sigh of relief" since being notified of the false positive.

"There is a tremendous sense of relief," Cr Firman said.

"I understand that there's a lot of worry in the community and so on, but at the end of the day there's far more to be grateful for out of the situation."

He said as a whole, the community were relieved for the businesses, but also for the man who returned the false positive result.

"We feel a sense of relief for the gentleman concerned, for the essential worker," he said.

"We've been thinking of him, that is something that can be forgotten, I would think he would have had a sense of guilt in thinking he could cause illness to other people in different communities so we were extremely pleased that it has come back negative."

He said the overwhelming response from the community, and support show by healthcare workers is a reassuring sign the area is prepared for any future exposure to the disease.

Businesses that were listed as venue of concern included the Shell Service Station in Temora, French Hot Bread in Temora, BP Beckom Roadhouse and Wylie's Newsagency in Temora.

The mayor said the community has even put their head together and come up with a way of celebrating the town's effort in wake of the frightening week - organising a film competition for all school-aged students in the shire to submit a two minute video on what they love about Temora Shire.

Prize money is being provided by the mayor, the deputy mayor and one of the businesses falsely identified as a venue of concern, Wiley's Newsagency.

"It will be heartwarming and encouraging, and the best medicine," Cr Firman said.

The news came just ahead of the MLHD's announcement that businesses in Wagga and Gundagai have been listed as exposure sites after two drivers visited them on August 25.

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