coronavirus, coronavirus, council, horsham, wimmera, health, grampians

Councils and health providers across the region are responding to growing concerns for the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Update 6.50pm Wimmera Health Care Group and West Wimmera Health Services have public health information about the virus, advising people not to present in person to health facilities if they have symptoms. The WHCG said anyone with symptoms should call the coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398. The post also said people should not visit an aged care facility or health service and if seeking medical advice should phone a GP or the hospital instead. WWHS echoed the sentiment adding: "Anyone who does present to a WWHS facility will be cared for however by following the (advice) you will be helping to protect our vulnerable patients and residents as well as reducing the likelihood of the virus spreading if and when it arrives in our communities." Amcal Pharmacy Horsham said in a Facebook post that they encouraged their regular customers to keep their scripts on file to assist in dispensing and delivery of medicines in the case of quarantine/isolation periods. Hindmarsh Shire Council has shared advice on coronavirus in both English and in a Karen language. A spokesman from Horsham Rural City Council said all events at the Horsham Town Hall would be running as normal this weekend because the hall holds 480 people. He said council was following the federal government advice for mass gatherings, and were yet to make a decision about whether the Youth Festival would go ahead in April. Update 3.30pm IN a statement released by Ararat Rural City Council, chief executive Dr Tim Harrison said Council was working closely with the State Government, the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and East Grampians Health Service to ensure it is kept up-to-date with the latest developments with the Covid-19 virus situation. Dr Harrison said Council was taking the advice of the State Government in terms of service delivery and community safety, and would be directed by their recommendations. "The State Government has instigated a very well-coordinated public health response and we are confident this will stand us in good stead for what lies ahead, no matter what eventuates," he said. "We encourage all residents to take the Department of Health and Human Services' advice on staying healthy, such as using the recommended hand-washing techniques." Dr Harrison encouraged residents to use the resources available to them to find out more and to alleviate their concerns. State Government websites: . https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert#current-status . https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorian-public-coronavirus-disease-covid-19 The statement said if anyone suspects they may have the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the State Government encourages people to call the dedicated hotline on 1800 675 398. Earlier 1.30pm Stawell's Health services leaders met on Friday morning to focus on local planning. Based on the advice health services were receiving, the risk of people being exposed to the virus is increasing and it is unlikely that at some stage people living in Stawell won't be exposed. Sue Blakey, CEO of Eventide Homes said from meeting together today we have been able to work on shared resources and workforce planning in order to keep services available for the community. Moving forward other key agencies will become involved to have a more complete community response to the virus. This will happen in the next week. "The biggest risk to our community is if we ignore COVID-19," Kathleen Doole Chair of the Stawell Neighbourhood House said. "If we plan together we can come out of this alright." READ MORE: Stawell's 'all-in' approach to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here. While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up here.

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