Executive director of public health Lucie Shanahan said this week's lower testing rates were not entirely surprising.

"Partly because of the good weather that we've had and the eased restrictions, so we think people are out catching up with one another," she said.

"But it's also an opportunity for us to remind people if you are experiencing even the mildest symptoms, so if you've got a bit of a scratchy throat, you feel a bit fatigued or you've got a runny nose, please come forward for testing, so we can be sure that we are testing everyone who needs to be tested."

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Ms Shanahan said people should be careful not to mistake COVID for hay fever.

"If you have any symptoms, which might be hay fever in this current climate or could be COVID-19, we ask you to come forward for testing," she said.

"But also to minimise the social interactions that you're having, minimise your movements across the community, if possible, stay home if you feel unwell.

"Whilst it is pleasing to see a reduction in numbers, we're not yet confident that we're on top of this outbreak, so we do ask people to come forward for testing if you're the slightest bit unwell."

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