THE spread of coronavirus in the local health district has stalled for another day, but one North West town will be targetted in a COVID-19 testing blitz.
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Hunter New England Health (HNEH) said low rates of testing in Moree were concerning and it is working to understand the spread of the pandemic virus.
The organisation is calling on people living in the Moree area to get tested if they begin to show symptoms.
A spokesperson for HNEH said on Thursday Moree has been identified as having relatively low testing rates for the infection.
HNEH said locals who have recently come down with a fever or respiratory symptoms should call their GP or the Moree hospital to arrange a COVID-19 test, and current clients of Pius X Aboriginal Medical Service can call the service to organise a test.
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The latest update from HNEH on Thursday afternoon shows the Moree Plains Shire Council area has no confirmed cases of COVID-19 as at 8pm on Wednesday.
HNEH public health physician Dr David Durrheim said it's important locals know targetting Moree is to map the spread of the virus across the district, not because an outbreak is expected to be uncovered.
"It's important that people understand we are not putting the spotlight on Moree because we expect to find a significant cluster of the disease there," he said.
"If anything, we're expecting to find a very small number of cases, if any at all.
"But it's important that we know what is actually happening in the community, even if only to confirm the lack of COVID-19."
He said the only way to confirm Moree does not have a coronavirus issue is to increase testing.
The announcement comes as the latest numbers from HNEH on Thursday afternoon reveal no new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the Tamworth local government area or in the HNEH local district, to 8pm on Wednesday.
The latest update from HNEH actually shows a decrease in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the district, dropping from 276 to 270 infections, an anomaly they said was caused by ongoing case reviews.
Tamworth local government area has no new cases of the coronavirus and remains stable at 12 cases, a figure that has not changed since March 30.
A spokesperson from HNEH confirmed the case numbers include people who have officially recovered from the virus and people who died from the virus.
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