Victoria’s COVID-19 testing sites ‘running smoothly’ after chaotic weekend

Victoria’s COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar says a surge plan was put in place when the “goal posts” moved when cases in NSW grew and the Black Rock cluster emerged.

He apologised for people who had a slow journey back from NSW and those who had to cancel travel plans, as well as returning travellers who waited for hours to get tested.

“That’s why we have put the capacity in and that’s why we have stepped these measures up,” he told Heidi Murphy on 3AW Drive.

By Friday, 180 testing stations were operating, after huge delays at testing across Melbourne on the weekend saw some Melburnians turned away.

Average wait times at testing clinics were around an hour on average today, he said.

“The network is running smoothly … we have expanded capacity, particularly in the south-east, the big testing centres at the showgrounds and in Bayside are working well.

“The waiting times are a fraction of what we saw on Thursday and Friday.”

He said 250 people were working on the COVID-19 hotline, but demand had lowered.

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Latest COVID-19 figures: Victoria records three new community cases as testing number soars

Image: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images