PM calls for calm despite Omicron; Victorian testing centres overrun again
Aussies have been urged to “keep calm” before Christmas, with the PM calling a national cabinet meeting to assess the Omicron risk.
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Scott Morrison will meet with state and territory leaders on Wednesday in a final pre-Christmas meeting to assess the risk of the new Omicron Covid variant.
The Prime Minister said he had called the meeting to consider the latest advice on Omicron and ensure “calm and consistent messages” from all governments.
Mr Morrison urged Australians to roll up their sleeves for a booster vaccine dose if they were eligible, saying that was the most important action they could take so that “we can keep our nerve, keep calm and carry on”.
So far, 1.4 million people have had a booster shot. Mr Morrison said there were another 4.3 million doses ready to be administered at 9000 distribution points nationwide.
“We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, which means we can stare this latest Omicron variant down and we can keep Australia moving,” he said.
“We want to stay safe but we also want to stay safely open … It is about getting that balance right.”
Asked if he supported mask mandates, Mr Morrison said: “We’ll do what we always do and take advice from the medical expert panel. There’ll be circumstances where masks are common sense.”
Meanwhile, Victorians are being encouraged to use rapid tests and mask up to avoid the “genuinely concerning” Omicron variant.
Covid Commander Jeroen Weimar also called for people due for booster shots to get them as soon as possible.
“It would be nice to be able to relax and ease into Christmas,” he said.
“But we have 14,000 actives cases across the state and we have to stay vigilant.”
Mr Weimar recommended people visiting elderly relatives and high risk settings to have a rapid test prior to help protect their loved ones.
“We still don’t know a lot about Omicron, but we’re looking at what’s happening internationally and in New South Wales.
“We do know it’s in Victoria and we have had cases in the community.”
Alfresco catch ups were recommended and if inside, doors and windows should be open.
Mr Weimar praised Victorians for recent daily record test numbers, while visiting a testing site at Frankston hospital.
“We’re at about 80,000 at the moment which is encouraging,” he said.
“There are 50 to 60 testing sites across the state and staff will be on seven days a week over Christmas and New Year.”
Mr Weimar was unable to say why wait times for testing sites had not been published online on Monday.
VICTORIAN TESTING CENTRES OVERRUN AGAIN
Wait times at some of Melbourne’s most central testing sites continue to blow out despite three new testing sites being set up over the weekend.
People were expected to wait about three hours to receive a test at the Bourke St walk-in clinic in Melbourne’s CBD by 9am on Monday.
Meanwhile, drivers were estimated to wait two hours before getting tested at Tarneit’s Wootten Road Reserve clinic.
By 8.45am, wait times at the Melbourne Showgrounds site had climbed to one hour despite opening at 7am.
The Francis Crescent walk-through clinic in Ferntree Gully has also seen wait times of up to three hours, while people can expect to wait up to two hours for a test at the Lakeview Drive walk-through clinic in Lilydale, which closes at 3pm.
Eastern Health’s walk-through clinic in Box Hill and 4Cyte Pathology in Coburg experienced a blowout in wait times of up to two hours by 11am.
Meanwhile, people wanting to get tested at the 4Cyte Pathology drive-through in Cranbourne East have been forced to wait up to 2.5 hours for a test.
Sandringham’s Bluff Rd walk-through site was experiencing two-hour estimated wait periods by 11am.
Spiking wait times also impacted testing hubs on Melbourne’s outer fringe, with people waiting up to two hours to be tested at Yarra Junction’s Warburton Highway walk-through clinic, about 65km east of the CBD.
1302 CASES, NO DEATHS
Victoria has recorded 1302 new Covid-19 cases on Monday as more infections linked to the variant of concern are identified.
There are 406 people in Victorian hospital with the virus, 81 in intensive care and 43 on a ventilator.
There are now two dozen cases of the Omicron variant in Victoria, with health authorities saying the strain’s rapid transmission rate is concerning.
Deputy chief medical officer Sonya Bennett said there was still a lot of uncertainty around the severity of the variant but it had become clear it was highly transmissible, with a doubling time of about two days.
Meanwhile, NSW has recorded 2501 new Covid-19 cases on Monday as health officials refuse to release a key document.
The state posted a national record of infections on Sunday of 2566 new cases.
HOW TO AVOID XMAS QUARANTINE
Victorians can avoid a Christmas in quarantine by catching up outdoors over the next week, the Department of Health has revealed.
With many Victorians proving to be more scared of catching an isolation order rather than the virus itself, health authorities are calling for Christmas catch-ups to be held outdoors and for shorter periods of time.
A person will be deemed a household contact if they have spent four hours indoors with a positive case.
“Have Christmas on the veranda or reduce your time inside a house with others to less than four hours,” a Department of Health statement read.
“You may still have to get tested but your time in isolation will be shorter.”
It comes as the department revised its isolation requirements for people who come into contact with suspected Omicron cases.
Previously, non-household contacts had been advised to get tested and quarantine for 7 days if fully vaccinated (or 14 days if not).
The settings were applied on a case-by-case basis following public health review.
But going forward, contacts in Victoria will follow the standard protocols regardless of the variant.
It means household contacts must quarantine for 7 or 14 days, but non-household contacts – such as social, workplace or education contacts – are advised to get a PCR test and isolate until they get a negative result.
The Department of Health will still manage certain contacts – particularly at potential or likely superspreader events more cautiously, but this will be done on a case-by-case basis and by exception.
Contacts in these situations will be directly notified.
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