All three of Tamworth's private coronavirus testing options will shut down for Christmas, with the hospital clinic on reduced hours, in the midst of what is shaping up to be a coronavirus outbreak.
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Laverty Pathology will shut its doors at midday on Christmas eve and won't reopen until Wednesday December 29.
It will also close on January 1 and 2, 2022.
The Northwest Health respiratory clinic on Goonoo Goonoo Road will also close its doors on public holidays.
Douglas Hanly Moir Pathology on Peel Street will also close on Christmas until December 29, and then close again from January 1 to January 3.
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The Queensland government requires travellers from declared hotspots to be tested within 72 hours of a visit to the sunshine state. The entire state of NSW is considered a hotspot by the state government.
Dr Ian Kamerman, the practice principal and owner of Northwest health, said clinic staff had thought long and hard about the shutdown.
"We do need a break," he said.
"We did have a long hard think about it. We also consulted with a number of our colleagues.
"I was in conversation with a colleague who runs one of the largest General Practice testing clinics in Sydney and he's doing the same thing, closing over Christmas, New Year for exactly the same reason. It's really hard on staff who've been doing it for such a long while."
The clinic will also use the break to prepare to take on a new role managing low-acuity coronavirus patients getting care at home.
The contract kicks in on January 1.
"Is [the testing shutdown] going to make a substantial difference? Yeah it probably will," he said.
"I'm curious what the state numbers are going to be over that period as well and how many other places are opening."
The GP clinic will also start to manage two major new waves of vaccination, children and booster shots.
A spokesperson for Laverty Pathology confirmed that during the Christmas period, some of their sites will be operating on reduced hours.
"Gunnedah is scheduled to close for four normal operating days and Tamworth will close for one operating day outside of the public holidays," she said.
"We apologise for any inconvenience."
"Alternative testing sites can be found on the NSW Government website."
The spokesperson did not confirm if the decision could be reversed in case of a major COVID-19 outbreak.
"Laverty continues to work with local public health and will respond to any changes to testing demand accordingly," she said.
It will be even harder to get tested over the holiday break in smaller towns around the region.
The Laverty clinics in Gunnedah and Inverell will close for nine days from Christmas day. In Armidale, the clinic will close from Christmas to December 28 and then from January 1 to January 2.
Most of the state's testing clinics closed in 2020, during a relatively quieter period of the pandemic.
Residents will still be able to get tested for coronavirus at the Tamworth hospital for most of the holidays, but the testing clinic will operate on reduced hours.
It will be closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, according to its website.
Dr Kamerman said anyone with flu-like symptoms should get a PCR test and recommended holidayers who are visiting high-risk or unvaccinated relatives, or travelling long distances, to get a rapid antigen test before doing so.
He also said people should avoid crowded areas or large groups of people.
There were 674 COVID-19 cases reported in the Hunter New England Health region in Friday's numbers and 2213 new infections reported across NSW.
In a press conference this week, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said case numbers could hit 25,000 by the end of January.
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