The COVID Fever Clinic queues at the Lismore Base Hospital have become noticeably longer following stricter regulations for NSW schools announced by Premier Gladys Berejiklian last week. Wait times have increased to 90 minutes from 60 minutes in peak times.

The line from the NSW Government Education website that has all parents concerned is "Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 is prohibited from returning to school until a negative test result has been reported".

If your child has any flu like symptoms such as a runny nose, cough or sore throat then all schools are being more vigilant in asking parents to not send their children to school or to pick them up from school if it is a concern for teachers. You must present a negative test result from the NSW Health before your child can attend school again.

Wayne Jones Chief Executive of Northern NSW Local Health District says they have seen a spike in tests since the government announcement on August 17. "Last Monday we performed 345 COVID tests which increased to 529 on Tuesday and 460 on Wednesday. We can directly relate the increase in tests to the impact of the new public health policy", he said.

"We have complete just under 51,000 tests since the Fever Clinics opened and we review the activity on a regular basis".

This weeks review will lead to an increase in services for the Fever Clinic at Lismore Base Hospital to reduce the longer waiting times.

"We understand that this is an inconvenience for parents and those looking to be tested", Mr Jones said, "this week we will have more staffing to increase our testing capacity".

"The more testing we can do the more confident we can be in containing coronavirus on the Northern Rivers".

The Lismore Base Hospital Fever Clinic is open between 9am and 5:30pm 7 days a week.