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Chaotic scenes after Covid scare in Victorian town

Long queues have been mounting in Shepparton on Thursday morning as the regional Victorian town is on high alert after a truck driver linked to two other coronavirus outbreaks stopped there two weeks ago.

After residents in the town, 180km north of Melbourne, stood in line for up to seven hours on Wednesday to be tested after a plea from the Victorian government, people flocked to testing sites again on Thursday morning.

A photo that emerged on Twitter from ABC journalist Courtney Howe showed a long line forming at Goulburn Valley Health at 6.30am, despite the testing site not opening until 8am.

“People have brought chairs, coffee and books while they wait,” she wrote.

Thousands of Shepparton locals flocked to be tested after a truck driver brought the virus into their town. Source: Nine News
People in Shepparton have been urged to get tested after three people returned a positive result. Source: Nine News

On Wednesday, the Victorian government called for a massive testing blitz in the town after three people tested positive on Tuesday, with the population of more than 50,000 urged to get tested immediately if they showed any symptoms.

The Greater Shepparton City Council posted on Facebook on Thursday morning testing site 1 at Shepparton Sports Precinct was already at capacity, with people urged to return later this afternoon.

The testing time has also been extended to 7pm. Testing site 2 at the Sports City main pavilion will still open at 12.

People are also urged to avoid the showgrounds testing facility at the McIntosh Centre as it too has reached capacity.

Testing sites at GV Health’s Acute Respiratory Clinic is open until 5.30pm and Shepparton Respiratory Clinic is open by appointment.

“We expect long queues so please come prepared,” the council wrote.

“We ask you to bring some water, food, a hat, sunscreen and possibly a folding chair if you can’t stand for long periods of time. Please make sure to physically distance yourself by 1.5 metres with others waiting in line.”

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