The entries were amazing and depicted some glorious Highlands scenes ranging from the vibrant colours of Autumn and the tulip season to misty winter views and our tranquil rural countryside.

The four winning images will be showcased on the walls of our $68.7 million Stage 1 redevelopment of Bowral & District Hospital, which is making excellent progress.

Congratulations to the winners Meg Nurse photography "Winter in Blue" (first place), Michael Lees "The Golden Driveway" (second place), Carl Bahls "Sunrise in the Drought" and Simon Hutton-Potts "Autumn Sky Hill'' (people's choice).

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Thank you to everyone who entered the competition - the entries were of an extremely high standard and made me so proud of our beautiful Southern Highlands.

We will celebrate the winners at a presentation later in the year.

Redevelopment

Our hospital's redevelopment has reached some key milestones during the last month.

The staged removal of scaffolding has revealed the facade of our new clinical services building, and the site's 38.8 metre crane has been dismantled.

Fondly known as Rakhi, following a naming competition last year, the crane dominated the Bowral skyline since July 2019.

COVID-19

With the further relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, I would like to thank everyone for continuing to follow physical distancing of 1.5 metres and wash your hands to minimise the risk of virus transmission.

These measures are vital to protect our staff, patients and community and particularly elderly and vulnerable people.

The older you are, the higher your risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

I also encourage anyone who has cold or flu-like symptoms, such as a sore throat, fever, headache, dry cough and fatigue, even if the symptoms are mild, to be tested at the hospital's COVID-19/ flu assessment clinic or see your GP.

The clinic, located in the outpatients clinic in Ascot Road, is open from 10am to 6pm on weekdays and from 10am to 3pm on weekends and public holidays.

With school holidays starting soon, please postpone any travel if you are unwell and avoid travelling to Victoria.

For the latest information on COVID-19, visit the NSW Health website at www.health.nsw.gov.au.

If you need advice on the coronavirus, call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222 to speak to a registered nurse.

The NSW Government recently announced an additional $2.3 billion health boost and economic stimulus package for COVID-19, with $800 million extra funding for NSW Health to double ICU capacity, provide additional COVID-19 testing, purchase additional ventilators and medical equipment, establish more acute respiratory clinics and bring forward elective surgeries to private hospitals.

A further $388 million has been allocated to ramp up elective surgeries, focusing on patients whose surgery has been delayed by COVID-19 to ensure they are booked in as soon as possible.

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