Vic Omicron cases jump amid testing surge
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Melbourne testing sites are again being overrun by holiday-makers and those exposed to COVID-19, as Omicron cases in the state rise.
The state reported 1503 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday from 92,262 test results – the most processed in a 24-hour window since the pandemic began in early 2020.
The overwhelming demand for testing had forced at least 14 testing sites across the city to shut as of 9.45am.
They spanned from the east at Golfers Drive in Chadstone, southeast at Peninsula Health in Frankston and north at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital.
In Melbourne, the Bourke Street walk-in remains shut but the Montague Street drive-through has reopened.
Albert Park’s drive-through was also inundated, immediately suspending testing after opening, for a third straight day.
It has since reopened to incoming traffic, with an expected wait time of 90 minutes.
The state’s COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said it was an exceptionally busy time, with more than a quarter of tests being conducted for people needing a negative result to travel interstate.
“That is part of the pressure that we have to deal with,” he told reporters at Sandown Racecourse vaccination centre on Wednesday.
“That is also why we geared up our testing system over the last couple of months. We’ve added 55 per cent more capacity to our testing system since October.
“Those testing teams will be there on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day and all the way through the holiday period.”
Despite the long lines, Mr Weimar urged anyone with symptoms to come forward for a PCR test or take a rapid antigen test at home if they can source one.
Cases of the Omicron variant have jumped to 61, up from 37 on Tuesday, and the state is bracing for more.
Mr Weimar said the new strain would inevitably spread further in Victoria from NSW due to the high level of movement between the two states.
Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has interrupted his leave to attend Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting, where Australia’s leaders will discuss indoor mask requirements and vaccine boosters amid rising Omicron cases across the nation.
The premier will briefly return for the meeting before deputy James Merlino resumes his role as acting premier.
Victoria will join other states to call for the COVID-19 vaccine booster interval to be further reduced from five months to three or four months at the virtual meeting.
More than 17,000 Victorians were vaccinated in state-run hubs on Tuesday, as the national booster program gathers momentum.
That represented a four-fold increase from a fortnight ago, Mr Weimar said.
Victoria’s active case numbers remain relatively stable at 13,888, as do hospitalisations and intensive care figures.
A further six Victorians have also died with COVID-19, taking the state’s toll across the pandemic to 1466.
AAP
