A total of five Young COVID patients are receiving medical support at the Wagga Base Hospital and one is currently receiving intensive care.
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The Murrumbidgee Local Health District has advised the patient in the intensive care unit has not been placed on a ventilator at this stage and all five are in stable conditions.
The patients were all taken to Wagga Base Hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the Hilltops local government area in the past week.
There has been seven confirmed cases in the Young area and another three are currently under investigation.
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MLHD executive director of medical services Dr Len Bruce said the ages of the seven COVID patients range from two years old to 77.
He said the treatment of the patients is going well and urged the communities across the Murrumbidgee Local Health District to continue getting tested even if they have any symptoms whatsoever.
"We've obviously been planning for this for about 18 months and when the cases presented everything worked the way that we planned it," he said.
"That's great work and it's obviously reassuring for us but it's also reassuring for the community."
![STABLE: MLHD respiratory specialist Dr Tara McKenzie said all five COVID patients being treated at Wagga Base Hospital are in stable conditions. Picture: Emma Hillier STABLE: MLHD respiratory specialist Dr Tara McKenzie said all five COVID patients being treated at Wagga Base Hospital are in stable conditions. Picture: Emma Hillier](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/kKskU4JMnwJqCa7biW7GNM/d7c0c69b-6341-4be4-8998-959ff5c11aa4.jpg/r0_353_3691_2436_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Professor Tara McKenzie is a respiratory specialist at the Wagga Base Hospital and has been part of the team treating the five COVID patients.
"In general terms the patients are stable and overall they are doing well," Prof McKenzie said.
Professor McKenzie said the patients were transferred to Wagga as they require a Base Hospital level of care.
"Young Hospital does an amazing job but there's certain levels of care that no district hospital can provide and that's why they've been transferred," she said.
"I can promise you the community had zero risk because of these transfers because they transferred appropriately."
![UPDATE: MLHD executive director of medical services Dr Len Bruce continued to urge the community to get tested, even if they have only mild symptoms. Picture: Emma Hillier UPDATE: MLHD executive director of medical services Dr Len Bruce continued to urge the community to get tested, even if they have only mild symptoms. Picture: Emma Hillier](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/kKskU4JMnwJqCa7biW7GNM/0ab6e8c0-eac4-482e-9c81-e1b326eba2f8.jpg/r0_156_3691_2239_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Professor McKenzie echoed Dr Bruce's comments and urged residents to continue getting tested and vaccinated against COVID-19.
"If you have even the mildest of symptoms, especially if you are in the Hilltops area, go and get tested," she said.
"The best way we can all protect ourselves is to absolutely get vaccinated. In Sydney there's very few people who have been to the ICU who have been double-vaccinated."
No cases of COVID have emerged in Wagga as of yet, however fragments of the virus have been detected in the sewage surveillance at Griffith, Balranald, Albury, Young and Cowra in recent days.
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