Coronavirus testing requirements will be wound back to ease demand, as hospitals are pushed to the brink by the rapidly spreading omicron variant and the number of daily infections reached almost 65,000 on Wednesday, smashing the record set just a day earlier.

Following national cabinet on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there would be “tensions” for another few weeks in the testing system, as he unveiled plans to provide up to 10 free rapid antigen tests for 6.6 million concession cardholders and threatened retailers engaged in price gouging with hefty fines and jail terms.