Source: ABCnews
Victoria has recorded 1,503 new local COVID-19 cases and six deaths, as record demand for testing continues to overwhelm several sites in Melbourne.
There are 394 COVID-19 patients in Victorian hospitals, including 70 active cases in intensive care and 41 patients on a ventilator.
There are 44 patients whose infections are no longer considered active in ICU.
The state’s seven-day average for hospitalisations is now 391, up from 296 a fortnight ago.
The latest cases were detected from 92,262 results processed on Tuesday — the highest number of daily tests in Victoria since the pandemic began.
There are 13,888 active cases in the state.
Queues are again ballooning out at testing sites, with demand from those planning Christmas travel into states requiring negative PCR test results causing major delays.
Several testing centres, including those at Albert Park, South Melbourne, Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD, Alfred Health, St Vincent’s Hospital, Malvern East, Wantirna, and Keysborough all reached capacity shortly after opening this morning.
Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino said on Tuesday mask rules were being weighed up but the state’s main COVID-19 settings would not change, despite calls from some health experts to reimpose some restrictions given the explosion of Omicron cases in New South Wales.
Mr Merlino and other state leaders will use today’s extraordinary meeting of national cabinet to push for the interval between the second and third COVID-19 vaccine doses to be shortened, in a bid to curb the spread of Omicron.
