AMBULANCE Victoria is urging people in the Loddon Mallee region to only call 000 in emergencies.
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Paramedics were inundated with jobs in metropolitan Melbourne earlier this week, leading to a Code Red being called.
Loddon Mallee acting regional director Trevor Weston said while regional Victoria was not affected, paramedics were still seeing increased demand.
"The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant and unprecedented impact on health systems including Ambulance Victoria and hospital emergency departments," Mr Weston said.
"Our AV and partner agency staff in Loddon Mallee are working extremely hard to manage the increasing demand while prioritising care to the sickest Victorians.
"Here in the Loddon Mallee region, we are continuing to see a very high demand for emergency care, and this is expected to continue for a number of weeks, especially with more visitors to the region than usual."
Mr Weston said it was important for community members to only call 000 in emergencies, especially as COVID cases continued to climb.
"Every call for assistance that isn't an emergency puts significant strain on our crews to reach those patients who need us the most," he said.
People who have mild coronavirus symptoms should seek support from Nurse on Call, their GP, or the COVID Positive Pathway contact that they have been provided by their healthcare provider.
If you develop severe symptoms, you should call 000 immediately, tell the call-taker your symptoms, and let them know you have COVID-19.
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