Mayor Amanda Findley is urging people to get tested if they show the mildest of symptoms after a confirmed COVID case visited Goulburn and Jervis Bay on May 23 and 24.
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"I was just a bit shocked last night seeing that news come through that the Shoalhaven was in the sites of NSW Health," said the Mayor.
"My first thought was to get this message out as quickly as possible to people because there would have been a lot of traffic through Vincentia in particular.
"We have to get people on the move and to get them to start getting tested again."
She said the Shoalhaven were a community of people who are inclined to do the right thing and get tested if they need to.
"We did respond really well last time when we had those two COVID scares in and around Huskisson," she said.
"Those scares that occurred in Huskisson demonstrated that people understood the need to adhere to [NSW Health guidelines].
"I think it was the way New South Wales Health had instructed people that we were kind of saved from calamity.
"So what I hope is that because people and businesses have been following fairly strict cleaning regimes and our clientele are so used to singing in with the app that there really should be no reason for any local people to fall through the gaps.
"If this situation develops rapidly [and people from the Shoalhaven become infected], then the Shoalhaven will equally comply because we have an older population and no one wants to see [COVID] get out."
She said the permanent population was so low around the Cooked Goose Café at Hyams Beach that most of the people who would have been through there were probably tourists.
"That's where it's really important for tourists to sign in in order to get contact tracing done," she said.
Councillor Findley said the community should be alert but not alarmed and should maintain their positivity.
"There's going to be members of our community who have really followed instructions about reducing their interpersonal contact and that they may have just been coming out of that," she said.
"They may have been feeling like life had gone back to normal and now they feel a great deal of shock.
"We need to remain optimistic but we also need people to remain vigilant around their personal health."
She urged more people who are eligible for COVID vaccines to go and get vaccinated.
"We are an optimistic and resilient community and we've got a good degree of confidence in NSW Health to help deliver good outcomes for us," said the Mayor.
For a list of local testing clinics and their operating hours, visit: www.islhd.health.nsw.gov.au/services-clinics/public-health-unit/infectious-diseases/covid-19-latest-advice-and-resources-6
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District is working to establish a number of additional pop-up testing clinics and will post up-to-date information on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/IllaShoalHealth
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