People have been asked to not come to the emergency department or call 000 unless they are facing a true emergency.
More than 130 COVID-19 cases were officially recorded in Shepparton on Friday, January 7, but the true number could be up to 10 times higher than officially reported.
Mr Sharp said almost 40 per cent of cases in the region were people in their 20s, twice the state average, and he said case numbers were expected to peak in the third and fourth weeks of January.
“It's a significant increase in terms of anything we've ever dealt with so far with COVID,” he said.
“And certainly all of our preparations now from a GV Health point of view in relation to our COVID services, and in relation to our emergency department and bed base services, are really gearing up in terms of preparing for that.”
Thirteen people with COVID-19 have been admitted to GV Health, with one person on a ventilator.
Mr Sharp said people needed to prepare for how they would deal with a case in their household, “whatever that household might look like”, and prepare for seven days of isolation, as well as how to support family and friends who might need help.
Health services have been heavily impacted by staff shortages, which historically have hit Shepparton harder than most other regional areas, with more than 150 vacancies across the region.
“We've had challenges in the last couple of years in terms of our workforce, in terms of recruitment of staff,” Mr Sharp said.
“Our challenges are no different to other regional health services and also in relation to other employers and large industry groups and professional firms in Shepparton.
“At the moment we have 150 full-time positions that we've been unable to recruit to through our normal channels.”
Mr Sharp said about 50 full-time doctor roles and 40 nursing positions were vacant, while more than 40 mental health service positions from Kilmore to Cobram were unfilled.
"We're doing everything that we can to fill shifts through temporary staff; a lot of our staff are actually working overtime, additional shifts, additional hours and I really want to thank and acknowledge them for that,’’ he said.
"People really need to think about where they can access healthcare information and how they can look after themselves. Please don't come to our emergency department unless it is a true emergency.’’
Mr Sharp said “50 or 60” staff were currently furloughed, which had caused the sudden closure of COVID-19 testing sites across the region since Christmas.
“Unfortunately, there's sometimes little warning for when people become advised that they're in contact (with a positive case),” Mr Sharp said.
“On occasions we've not been able to get the staff to cover those shifts.”
Mr Sharp said he was waiting for advice about rapid antigen tests being supplied by the Victorian Government, but expected they would be made available in the coming fortnight.
How exactly they would be distributed — if it would be at testing sites or at new settings — had not been decided, and GV Health had not been given advice on who would be eligible for free tests, but Mr Sharp said he wanted people to be able to get tested.
“It's likely that particularly people who are in a higher risk area or have symptoms, it's more than likely going to be easy for them to access it,” he said.
