A hotline and online reporting have opened for Victorians who test positive to a COVID-19 rapid antigen test to report their ‘probable’ case.
It is mandatory to report positive RAT results from Friday, a day when the state recorded 21,728 new cases from 68,202 tests through the PCR lab test system.
Another six people have died and hospitalisations have again increased to 644 people. There are 58 active cases in intensive care and 24 on ventilation.
Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said the new process means fewer people will be waiting on PCR test results.
Victorians are now required to report positive Covid-19 rapid antigen tests via hotline or online to alleviate pressure from PCR testing systems (pictured, residents queue at a Covid-19 testing clinic in Melbourne)
‘We will see fewer Victorians waiting on the results of that PCR test before they can go and either receive the care and information they need or return to life as normal,’ she said.
Anyone who receives a positive RAT must isolate for seven days and notify their contacts. They will receive the same clinical and financial support as PCR confirmed cases.
Testing commander Jeroen Weimar said the hotline and form will check whether people have symptoms and what they are, whether they’re a close contact, what support they need, whether they have been vaccinated, any existing conditions they have and if they’re happy being supported by a GP.
He said it would allow for care to be more quickly provided.
The RATs have at times proved difficult to find, but it’s hoped their use will reduce pressure on the overloaded PCR testing system.
By 9am on Friday 18 state-run PCR testing sites had reached capacity and closed, compared to 35 sites at the same time on Thursday, as new rapid antigen testing rules came into force overnight.
Anyone who receives a positive RAT will receive the same clinical and financial support as PCR confirmed cases in Victoria (pictured, testing clinics close around Melbourne on January 5)
Victoria is rolling out rapid tests at state-run testing sites. Four sites handed out RATs in a pilot program on Wednesday, and on Thursday that figure rose to 24 mainly metropolitan sites where asymptomatic people were offered the rapid test to use at home.
The 44 million tests ordered by the state are in transit.
Restrictions have also been reintroduced, including density limits of one person per two square metres for indoor hospitality and entertainment venues.
Ms Allan said the third dose booster program continues to ramp up, while bookings are being taken up by primary school children.
In the first 24 hours after bookings for children aged five to 11 opened there were 25,000 appointments made through the state system, accounting for five per cent of those eligible.
Meanwhile, world No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic has spent his first night in immigration detention in Melbourne as he fights the cancellation of his visa ahead of the Australian Open.
The 20-time grand slam champion has launched legal action in a federal court to challenge the decision, and is waiting on a hearing scheduled for Monday.
Ms Allan said the Victorian medical panel which provided Djokovic with the exemption to play in the Australian Open was an entirely separate process to the visa exemption.
‘How players and support staff enter the country to participate in the Australian Open … is a matter for the Commonwealth government and Tennis Australia,’ Ms Allan said.
‘The role of the (Victorian) panel was to assess the medical documentation, not to assess their eligibility for a visa.’
