Bendigo Health's public health unit is about more than contact tracing COVID-19 cases, deputy chief medical officer Dr Casey Nottage said.
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Dr Nottage, a public health specialist, explained there are three main functions of the team, which has oversight across the Loddon Mallee.
"The contact tracing is the first thing we do and that can take hours," Dr Nottage said.
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"The community and clinical response after that can go on for days and weeks, until we have cleared the cases."
Communicating with culturally and linguistically diverse people to explain how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is a recurring challenge for the team.
"We communicate in an appropriate way for people who don't speak English so they're getting the information that empowers them to be safe."
The unit considers the vast array of shared areas within homes and advises patients on how to keep those around them safe.
"Sometimes you have a case within a household of multiple people, who share a kitchen and bathroom," Dr Nottage said.
"How do we help people so they can stay safe in that environment?"
Separate living areas and bathrooms are ideal, but not always possible.
"Avoiding shared spaces where possible and if you do use them, making sure to have masks and gloves and a system of cleaning is critical in a COVID-19 positive household," Dr Nottage said.
The public health unit is also tasked with clinical monitoring, including daily phone calls to positive cases.
People at higher risk have been given digital thermometers and pulse oximeters, with daily follow-up.
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"Everyone talks about the contract tracing and that is a huge volume of the work the unit does, but it gets beyond just counting cases and contacts," Dr Nottage said.
The Bendigo Health unit became operational on August 3 and a month later, continues to service the region, despite a decrease in active cases.
