Free rapid antigen tests to be provided in Victoria as state records 3767 coronavirus cases, five deaths

Free rapid antigen tests will be available in Victoria within weeks after the state government ordered more than 34 million test kits.

Health Minister Martin Foley said the state government had yet to figure out how the tests would be doled out but health authorities were looking to ensure they were handed out in the most “effective and workable way”.

Rapid antigen tests are currently only available for free at state-run clinics for workplace, education and childcare centre COVID-19 contacts.

“Rapid antigen tests should be free, and we will be making them free,” Mr Foley said.

“Rapid antigen tests should be widely available, and we will be making them widely available, and that will be part of a process that has fallen to the states.

“We would much prefer to have a national approach to what is a national – indeed, an international – supply issue.

“But failing that, as per usual the states have had to step up over the course of this pandemic and fill the gap that’s been left.”

The Health Minister said the plan was for the rapid antigen testing program to be an ongoing one, and while authorities would “see how we go” in getting them to every Victorian for free, “the plan is very much to get them freely available and widely available”.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is on leave but will attend Thursday’s national cabinet meeting on rapid test strategy and isolation requirements. He had a phone call with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday morning ahead of the meeting.

Daniel Andrews getting his third dose.Credit: @DanielAndrewsMP via Twitter

Mr Andrews tweeted a photo of himself receiving his booster jab, writing “it’s good to set a resolution or two you’ll actually tick off”.

Victoria reported 3767 coronavirus case numbers on Wednesday, a new record. Mr Foley said the new high was “predictably but sadly” in keeping with Doherty Institute projections provided to national cabinet some weeks ago.

“And I think it’s fair to say, given the trajectory that we’re seeing in NSW, that we could expect to see those numbers continue to rise over the coming days and weeks,” Mr Foley said.

NSW recorded a similar spike in COVID cases on Wednesday, hitting a new national daily record of 11,201.

Across the country, more than 18,000 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed by about midday.

That did not include the ACT, which recorded 252 cases on Tuesday, or figures from Western Australia or the Northern Territory.

Mr Foley reiterated that, with both the Omicron and Delta variants circulating in the community, authorities were strongly recommending hospitality venues opt for seated service – particularly at New Year’s celebrations – and dance floors stay outside.

He encouraged all Victorians to get a booster dose, and said there were more than 100,000 vaccination bookings available in state-run clinics over the next month.

The 3767 Victorian cases are a new high for the state, surpassing the previous mark – set on Tuesday – by more than 1000. Wednesday’s figures bring the total number of active cases in Victoria to 19,994.

Wyndham, Brimbank, Hume, Melbourne, Casey, Moreland, Port Phillip, Whittlesea, Glen Eira and Melton were the local government areas with the highest case numbers.

The number of people in hospital in Victoria with the virus has increased to 397. There were 106 people in the intensive care unit on Tuesday, 62 of whom were active COVID-19 cases and 28 on a ventilator.

Health authorities were also notified of five more deaths involving COVID-positive Victorians on Monday, bringing the state’s total to 1504.

Another 535 Victorians rolled up their sleeves on Tuesday to receive a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while it was another big day for testing, with 75,132 results processed.

There are currently more than 24,602 close contacts of confirmed cases isolating across the state.

In good news for Victorian travellers, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Wednesday morning that, from January 1, travellers from interstate hotspots could use a rapid antigen test, rather than a PCR test, to satisfy the state’s border requirements.

Queensland has been under increasing pressure from other jurisdictions, including Victoria, over its requirements for PCR testing for travellers, as testing facilities around Australia struggle to keep up with demand at facilities through the holiday season.

Mr Foley said more than 40 per cent of PCR tests performed at state-run clinics on Boxing Day were for travel reasons.“That’s a lot,” he said.

The Health Minister said authorities welcomed Queensland’s decision to scrap PCR testing as a requirement, adding: “I think that just leaves the Northern Territory and Tasmania.”

In a statement released on Tuesday, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton urged Victorians who needed proof of a negative PCR test to travel interstate to get tested after midday, in a bid to address the blowout in wait times at clinics.

Testing sites were still overwhelmed on Wednesday morning, with at least eight at full capacity and forced to close within minutes of opening at about 7.20am.

The closed testing sites included Central Bayside Community Health Service at Cheltenham, St Vincent’s Hospital, Springers Leisure Centre in Keysborough, IPC Health at Deer Park, Hampstead Road in Maidstone the Bourke Street walk-in facility in the CBD, Moonee Valley Racecourse and Wantirna.

Otherwise, the shortest wait time listed on the state government’s website was 15 minutes at Hume City Council. Several other facilities had 60-minute wait times at 7.30am, while the wait time was 180 minutes at both the Akoonah Park, Berwick, walk-in testing site and Golfers Drive, Chadstone.

By about 8.30am, the list of testing sites at full capacity had grown to 21.

Australia’s chief health officers are also considering reducing the isolation period for people who test positive to COVID-19 following recent moves by health agencies in the US and the UK to shorten isolation requirements.

Mr Foley said he hoped the isolation period issue would be discussed at a national cabinet meeting, called by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, for Thursday.

He said Australia’s chief health officers had resolved to go for a nationally consistent approach when it came to isolation.

With Rachel Clun

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