Health authorities have warned locals to prepare for COVID-19 like they would for bushfires or floods, as the holiday period draws near. 

Today’s COVID-19 figures revealed that up to 8pm last night there were 17 new cases in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD), with one case in Coonamble and one in Walgett. 

WNSWLHD Acting Executive Officer Mark Spittal encouraged people to form a ‘Plan C’, should they, a loved one, or a household member test positive for Covid-19. 

“The simple reality is that we do have covid in our district. Case numbers have risen across the district and while I can understand that could alarm some people, there's no reason to panic,” Mr Spittal said. 

In preparing for a positive case, Mr Spittal urged locals to plan how to isolate, how to inform the workplace, and to ensure your household is stocked with groceries, medication and necessary supplies, should one have to isolate. 

“We expect transmission of COVID-19 to continue increasing as movement around the state does, particularly in the holiday period, so part of our individual responsibility is to take sensible precautions,” Mr Spittal said.

According to the WNSWLHD, the district is averaging around 25 new positive cases each day. 

Mr Spittal said that while the infection rate is growing, a community that is 96 per cent fully vaccinated will see a very different impact to the outbreak that occurred in August this year. 

“Hospital admissions aren’t trending upwards like transmission numbers have. That tells us that the vaccines are working and fewer people are experiencing illness,” Mr Spittal said. 

While locals have been reassured that testing clinics will continue in each town at varying capacities, people should try to avoid getting tested on upcoming holidays including Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Years Day, where testing will continue at a more limited capacity. 

“People in the community shouldn’t expect those staff to be available. They also need time with their families, and that’s not unreasonable,” Mr Spittal said. 

Mr Spittal encouraged the use of Rapid Antigen Tests as a precaution before going to holiday events.

While authorities are expecting positive cases to increase over the holiday period, the horizon of the Western district could look quite different to Brad Hazzard’s projection of 25,000 cases by January. 

“Geography is a great defence for the Western district…we’ve seen right throughout covid that we’ve had significant outbreaks in individual towns, but we’ve largely been able to deal with it on a local level,” Mr Spittal said. 

Despite the variation in response, Mr Spittal said that the message to the community remains the same, where good hand hygiene and responsible behaviours should be a priority. 

Although the mask mandate is no longer standing, experts have urged people to wear masks indoors where social isolation isn’t possible in consideration of others around them, and to use QR codes when they are in place.

For updated local information around testing and vaccinations over the Christmas and New Year period, visit the WNSWLHD website.