Loddon Mallee Public Health Unit director Bruce Bolam said it had been a challenging time for staff as the swabbed about 1250 people on Monday and more than 1500 people on Tuesday.

Mr Bolam said the temporary site at the Bendigo Showgrounds would wind down on Friday depending on how much demand for testing remained.

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"We are planning on keeping (the showgrounds) open until Friday but as demand changes, we will change the number of lanes and staff working," he said. "Those were the biggest testing days Bendigo has had. It was a huge effort by people coming to be tested and people doing the testing.

"It's been pretty amazing demand. We are delighted to know everyone wants to get tested but it has been challenging to meet that demand. The first day we had a lot of challenges logistically. With additional work and support from the Department of Health, we got through a larger number of tests (on Tuesday).

"The pleasing thing is from the huge number of tests coming through as we speak, there is nothing of major concern there."

Mr Bolam said demand on Wednesday morning was much more manageable

"We started with a four-hour wait (on Tuesday) and at the end of day the showgrounds were down to a 30 minute wait, which where we like to be all the time," he said. "Demand at the walk-up was constantly high.

"(On Wednesday) we opened again and demand much more manageable. There was still a lot at McLaren Street but it was great to see people coming out."

Mr Bolam said people had dealt with the long wait times as best they could.

"It is a struggle to go from an average of 300 tests a day to 1200 or 1300. That is a mammoth effort," he said. "In the vast majority, people have been really respectful and any community concerns we listened hard and discussed with the Department.

"The first day was really challenging particularly because of the issue of the toilets (being closed). It is reasonable that people want them. Unfortunately in Shepparton we saw a number toilets during mass testing became exposure sites and we don't want that to occur here. We don't want to seed further cases.

"It is incredibly inconvenient and it led to frayed tempers. Staff dealt with it well."

Mr Bolam also said an abundance of concern from residents had contributed to long wait times with some people not at exposure sites during the times specified on the coronavirus website.

"The key message is for people who have been to exposure sites or are symptomatic to be tested," he said. "Some people are anxious because they are living someone (who attended an exposure site) but what that does is slow testing down and uses up resources.

"We don't want to dissuade people but it contributes hugely to the length of queues. The marketplace is a tier 2 site, that means it's a medium risk. The cleaning regimes in marketplaces and big supermarkets are really comprehensive and good."

"We are seeing tick up in (Victorian) cases that will be happening as the wave continues. People are working hard to stop that incursion as it happens (in regional Victoria). We're on the front foot with our epidemiologists and public health officers but every day there are more cases and notifications."

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