The Murrumbidgee Local Health District is reminding parents and teenagers that anyone over the age of 12 can get vaccinated, following more children contracting COVID-19 in the region this week.
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Five new people were announced as COVID-positive in the Hilltops local government area this week, including a woman in her 40s and four children.
The older woman and three of the children are household contacts of a previously reported case while a separate teenage female rounded off the new cases, which brought the total tally in the Hilltops region to 12.
Seven of the cases, including the five announced on Monday, are receiving care through the MLHD's hospital at home program while the other five have been transferred to Wagga Base Hospital, where one is in intensive care.
Five of the Hilltops cases are now confirmed as being under the age of 18, including a two-year-old who tested positive for the virus earlier this week.
MLHD chief executive Jill Ludford said the prominence of children in the cases is a reminder for those between the ages of 12 and 18 to get vaccinated.
"Vaccination is now open to anyone over the age of 12 and we've really got to focus on getting those little people down to the chemist, GP or the state-clinics and get them vaccinated as soon as we can," Ms Ludford said.
"As we saw in the numbers today we've got quite a high proportion of children who are catching COVID-19 and they can become very, very ill, particularly the little ones so let's all get those children vaccinated and a big push for our high school children as well."
Ms Ludford said the impact of COVID-19 on children can differ but generally it has a less significant impact than it does on those over the age of 18.
"The impact is variable and for the Delta variant little children can become very ill but in the majority of cases it doesn't have such a devastating impact as it does on adults," she said.
Ms Ludford said the region had been "an exemplar" in their response to the lockdown and the calls for testing.
"We saw more than 1000 people turn up to our testing clinics in Young and also in the towns around Young on Saturday," she said.
"Then another 500 on Sunday and nearly 700 yesterday."
The Albury local government area is yet to record a new case since a third was discovered on Saturday and the region could be preparing to come out of their snap seven-day lockdown on Friday if all continues.
The final area of concern in the region is Griffith which recorded a positive sewage test over the weekend.
Ms Ludford said the sewage result in Griffith was concerning and had been re-tested and the results of that test would hopefully be released tomorrow.
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