Inverell, Armidale, Glen Innes, Uralla, Moree sewage testing shows no traces of COVID-19 as vaccination rates rise - but testing declines

Inverell, Armidale, Glen Innes, Uralla and Moree have all seen a spike in those getting vaccinated, on average a rise of six per cent for the first dose and 2.8 per cent for the second across the board.

Looking at the NSW sewage surveillance detection map, the clean circle of blue dots in the New England is being framed by a wall of red to the west and north west.

Brewarrina, Walgett, Coonamble, Gulargambone, Narromine, Dubbo and Mudgee have all returned samples with traces of the virus present.

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With that stark reality only too clear, MP Adam Marshall has urged people to make an appointment to get vaccinated, while praising the efforts of people in towns like Inverell who've rolled up their sleeves to arm themselves.

Inverell's first and only sewage test so far was conducted on August 16, showing no trace of COVID-19.

The stats show the 'Fantastic Friday' mass vaccination clinic set up by UNE helped nine per cent of Inverell's eligible population get their first dose, with 48.9 per cent of the population now one jab down.

"It's no coincidence that the massive nine per cent increase in Inverell occurred in the week the mass vaccination hub was in town," Mr Marshall noted.

"It just shows that when opportunities are made available to get vaccinated more quickly and more easily, people are happy to take advantage."

In terms of the fully vaccinated, 21.4 per cent of eligible Inverellians have followed through with the second dose to become fully vaccinated: an increase of 2.6 since last week.

Testing rates in Inverell have fluctuated in the past seven days till Sunday, hitting one of the lowest points at the end - with just two tests administered on Sunday following from just six on Saturday.

Monday August 18 had the highest number, with a testing boom seeing 133 tests administered.

Moree, who has had four sewage tests since July, has not once shown up any trace of the virus.

The population currently sits at 47.9 per cent half-vaccinated and 26 percent fully vaccinated one of only two LGAs to be a quarter vaccinated, next to Armidale.

Moree also had a spike in tests on Monday, recording 105 swabs taken. Not seeing the low numbers Inverell had, their lowest-tested day was on Saturday with 11 tests recorded.

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The next Super Saturday UNE Medical School Mass vaccination Hub has been scheduled for Moree this weekend.

MP Adam Marshall has said more details on the mass clinic will be released soon.

The only town sewage which has had any sign of the virus since testing begun is Armidale.

The latest test for the Cathedral City joined the others in retuning a test with no trace, according to the NSW Health website, following on from the previous two tests where COVID-19 was detected.

On July 27 and August 3, 10 and 12, the sewage samples returned a positive reading.

In terms of vaccination rates, 55.1 per cent of the eligible population have had one dose, with 26.7 per cent having received both of their shots.

The drop in those getting tested also hit on the weekend, with just 27 people coming forward on Sunday - in comparison to Monday's high of 482.

Both days on the weekend had less than 100 people get tested in the first drop under three digits since the start of the week.

Glen Innes and Uralla

Glen Innes, also with one sample showing no COVID-19 fragment, takes the cake for the most people - 59.1 percent - with one dose, and 20.9 per cent now fully vaccinated.

Glen's testing figures never went above 50 for the week that was, a peak of 42 recorded on Tuesday and a low of seven recorded on Sunday.

Uralla's first and only sewage sample on August 10 came back clean.

The population sits at 43.7 per cent with one dose of the vaccine, with a click over 20 per cent fully vaccinated.

They had theirCOVID-19 testing low on Sunday with five, and their high on Tuesday with 51.

More than half of the people in our region has now received their first dose of COVID vaccine, which is great news according to Mr Marshall.

"It's so pleasing to see the large increase (six per cent) across the board from last week, which reflects the increasing desire of people to get vaccinated, but also the increasing opportunities to do so," he said.

"While the National Vaccination Rollout has been clunky and difficult to navigate for many, there are now many opportunities across our region to get vaccinated and get vaccinated quickly and I urge people to make an appointment today and do their bit for themselves, their family and their community."

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