Passengers from Melbourne flying into Orange are being checked for coronavarius symptoms by NSW Health staff in the airport terminal.
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Fly Corporate, NSW Health and Orange City Council which operates the Orange Regional Airport, have confirmed health officials were now meeting every flight from Melbourne.
It comes as NSW Health has announced the fever clinic at Orange hospital will return to opening seven days a week due to increased demand for testing at the respiratory clinic outside Bloomfield Medical Centre.
So we land there, where we're met by NSW Health.
- Jeff Boyd, Fly Corporate
Orange City Council spokesman Allan Reeder said the Orange airport checks were on top of measures in place by the airline in Melbourne, including passengers wearing face masks on the plane.
"All passengers get off the plane in Orange, and walk into the terminal. Health staff take temperature checks, check passengers' address details and ask other questions about whether passengers have visited hotspots," he said. "Passengers bound for Dubbo and Brisbane then get back on the plane."
Fly Corporate airline services manager Jeff Boyd said passengers leaving Melbourne had to show a valid permit to travel to NSW.
He said the checks were taking place in Orange as it was the first port of call after departing Melbourne's Essendon airport.
"So we land there, where we're met by NSW Health," he said.
Mr Boyd said passenger numbers had been limited, with seating restrictions on Victorian flights.
He said passengers had a range of reasons for travelling to and from Melbourne which has become a major coronavirus hotspot.
They included family circumstances, "regular mining customers" and health professionals visiting.
"So we do have a variety of people travelling who need to travel, but it is now quite limited on who and what your purpose to travel to and from Victoria and NSW is obviously," he said.
Face masks are compulsory for passengers from check-in.
Mr Boyd said the company had been providing two services a week in both directions to all its ports since an agreement with the government allowed it to resume a basic service in May.
A WNSW Local Health District spokeswoman said the fever clinic would re-open daily from 10am-5pm from Monday August 3.
She said, unlike the respiratory clinic, people did not need to book. But they do need to social distance while they wait for testing.
The spokeswoman said in the past four weeks there had been 1996 tests at the fever clinic and airport and all had been negative.
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