VICTORIA has recorded more new COVID-19 cases in the first three days of the year than for the entirety of 2020, the first year of the pandemic.
About 23,000 cases were reported in Victoria in the first three days of the year.
State COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said on Monday that one-in-five Victorians taking a PCR test were returning a positive result, and he warned that case numbers would continue to rise dramatically as the Omicron variant spread rapidly.
Victoria reported 8577 new cases and three fatalities on Monday, breaking the record for the state’s highest daily figure. Hospital admissions rose from 472 to 491.
The Mildura local government area recorded 26 new cases on Monday, after 30 emerged the day before. There are now 130 active cases in the area.
Me Weimar apologised for increased waiting times for PCR results. The delays, he said, came "because we are seeing far more positive cases".
“We are seeing hospitalisation numbers start to increase with 491 Victorians now in hospital with COVID, and we expect to see those numbers continue to increase quite rapidly in the days ahead,” he said.
“If we look at the experience in NSW who appear to be about a week or so ahead of us in this pandemic, they’re now starting to report quite significant numbers.
“So it’s really important that we all adapt our behaviours and we all take the actions now to minimise the impact of all of us and our families.”
Parents and carers of Victorian children aged 5-11 will be able to book their first COVID-19 vaccinations from 8am Tuesday.
Shots will be available for children in that age group from from January 10 and bookings can be made through the state’s online vaccination system or via the COVID-19 hotline.
Australians required to undertake a rapid antigen test as part of COVID-19 rules for close contacts, meanwhile, will be tested for free, according to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Speaking to Channel Seven this morning, Mr Morrison said tests would be made "free to everyone who was required to have one".
The National Cabinet changed the rules regarding close contacts last week, requiring asymptomatic contacts to take a rapid antigen test on day six of their isolation.
However, the prime minister ruled out making rapid antigen tests free for the broader community.
"We're at another stage of this pandemic now where we just can't go around and make everything free," Mr Morrison said.
"We've invested hundreds of billions of dollars getting Australia through this crisis. But we're now in a stage of the pandemic where you can't just make everything free because when someone tells you, they want to make something free, someone's always going to pay for it, and it's going to be you."
While no arrangement has yet been made, the prime minister reiterated that the federal government would sit down with state governments this week to get concessional access in the private market.
Speaking to ABC breakfast radio, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said a meeting to discuss concessional access and the latest medical advice was "set down for Wednesday".
