At Boort District Health, 100 kilometres north-west of Bendigo in Central Victoria, local nurses have gone above and beyond the call of duty — acting as delivery drivers to help residents in isolation.
The small, largely farming community recorded a population of around 870 in the last census.
At the local hospital, four people make up its "coronavirus response team".
And since the Omicron variant arrived in town just before Christmas, that team has been flat out doing everything from testing to getting people's medication from Bendigo.
Donna Doyle, director of clinical services at Boort District Health, said the COVID screening clinic was usually open Monday to Friday and was not open on public holidays or weekends.
But when the health service was contacted by a family suspected to have COVID-19 on Christmas Eve, Ms Doyle travelled out to them and swabbed them.
"We arranged courier services to get the swabs to Bendigo and then on to Melbourne first thing the next morning," she said.
Local nurses also dropped off Christmas groceries to several households.
"It's not what we thought we were going to be doing [on Christmas Eve]," Ms Doyle said.
But they do it — despite the day or time — because that's what you do in a town like Boort.
Nurses turned delivery drivers say it's just what they do
Ms Doyle said the busiest time for them was between Christmas Eve and early January after COVID cases emerged over Christmas.
"You can't plan these things, that's for sure."
She admitted buying people's groceries was not usually in a nurse's job description, but the team felt it was their duty to ensure all members of the community felt connected and supported.
"We don't want to exhaust our local supermarket people," Ms Doyle said.
"You can't get uber eats here, you can't get home deliveries 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
And being a delivery driver is not the only way these nurses are going the extra mile.
They have also put together COVID kits for people isolating at home to help them monitor and treat their symptoms.
"We have set up boxes that include a thermometer, [paracetamol], a fact sheet, wipes and hand sanitiser," nurse unit manager Mubarak Meera Sahib said.
"And we drop them to their place … if they need a rapid antigen test, we organise that."
Arguably the biggest errand yet was when a nurse drove an hour and fifteen minutes to Bendigo to pick up prescription medication for a resident in Boort.
"The family couldn't find anyone [to help] and they didn't want many people to know [they had COVID]" Mr Sahib said.
"The local doctor helped."
'Horrible' situation made brighter by community appreciation
Ms Doyle said the Boort District Health team had received overwhelming appreciation and support from the residents who had been assisted by staff.
"It's a horrible situation for our whole community to be in," she said.
Mr Sahib said Boort was a small, close-knit community, which was why he chose to remain part of it.
"I started my career here, thinking I might stay here for a few months and then maybe go to Bendigo or Melbourne," Mr Sahib said.
"But the way the community accommodates you and supports each other … it's amazing to see."
For Ms Doyle, the errands she ran for other people came with the job.
"If we can help, that's what we're here to do," she said.
