The number of coronavirus tests sought in Wagga has risen by more than 240 per cent in the last month, with almost 1000 people swabbed in a single day last week.
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Wait times for results have ballooned as the Murrumbidgee Local Health District's [MLHD] Showground and Murray Street clinics this week averaged between 560 and 600 tests per day, a spokesperson revealed.
A month ago those Wagga sites were seeing a daily average of 170 people, with a peak of 925 tests on December 27.
The increase in tests and positive results as the virus rips through the region is up against the logistics of processing samples with "a finite resource".
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"There's no simple way to fix that," NSW Health's Susan Pearce said on Wednesday morning.
"[Where we and private labs could] previously pool samples, now they have to do them all individually.
"It's not a matter of having more testing clinics open, it's a matter of being able to work through those processes."
The Showground site closed at 12.30pm on Wednesday under its new operating hours, and reopens at 7.30am.
Daisy Huntly
You'll find my byline on breaking news, live blogs and anything in between. Got a tip? Email dhuntly@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
You'll find my byline on breaking news, live blogs and anything in between. Got a tip? Email dhuntly@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
