A sudden, large influx in testing demand, driven by returned travellers and visitors from New South Wales' red zones this month, sparked the re-opening of a second COVID-19 testing clinic in central Ballarat on Monday.

Testing numbers at the UFS-led screening centre in Errard Street were at capacity with an overflow being directly to the senior citizens centre in Little Bridge Street, a clinic now operated by Ballarat Health Services.

UFS primary care operations manager Danielle Tresize said COVID-19 test results turnaround was still one to two days, the latter usually for people who test late in the day. Ms Tresize said there was still time for people to isolate and get their results before Christmas.

"Obviously what happened in Sydney shows those who do have the virus could be possible spreaders to relatives this Christmas, and it can happen quickly," Ms Tresize said.

Until this week, Ballarat had been consistently steady in COVID-19 test numbers despite reaching 100 days without any new infections earlier this month. There were 1550 tests conducted in Ballarat in the two weeks to Sunday. The city's testing rate has been on par with Geelong at 1415 tests per capita and clearly higher than Bendigo (1019 per capita).

UFS-led testing shifted from Lucas Community Hub to a more central location at 15 Errard Street North, between Sturt and Mair streets, on Monday.

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This comes as New South Wales' COVID-19 cluster, connected to Sydney's northern beaches, has sent Christmas travel plans into chaos across the nation. A further 15 cases were recorded on Monday, taking the cluster's active infections to at least 83 identified cases.

Anyone who has travelled through, visited or be visiting from Greater Sydney or the NSW Central Coast should get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate until they receive their result.

Ms Tresize said most people should have received a notice from the NSW health department. Anyone who has come from the infection hot spot zone should be isolating for 14 days.

Ms Tresize said the outbreak also reiterated the importance for anyone who has even the slightest cold, flu or hayfever symptoms to get tested and prevent potential community transmission this festive season.

Ballarat Health Services is directing people to first contact UFS to make a COVID-19 test booking. The Little Bridge Street screening will be open 8am-5pm on weekdays with Errard Street also open 9am to1pm on weekends.

Meanwhile, BHS is maintaining strict screening and infection controls across its facilities. BHS has launched a new pre-registration tool for anyone visiting the Base hospital or Queen Elizabeth Centre. This service aims to save entering details on arrival, including for those without appointments.

Patients with appointments do not need to pre-register, their details will be with their booking, and those unable to pre-register online can still register in person.

For more details: bhs.org.au/covid-19. Book a COVID-19 test: 4311 1571 or online at ufs.com.au/test.

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