Victoria’s Cases Spike Amid Push For Rapid Antigen Tests

Victoria's cases spike as the state reported 2,738 new infections on Tuesday and four Covid-related deaths.

It marks the state's highest daily Covid increase since the pandemic began.

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There are currently 17,821 active coronavirus cases, with 361 people in hospital, while 69 of those are in ICU and 33 are on ventilators.

Another 55 people are in intensive care with Covid, but the health Department have confirmed their infections are no longer considered active.

The new cases were detected from 66,683 swabs collected on Monday, while only 533 vaccine doses were administered at state-run hubs.

As of Tuesday, more than 92 per cent of Victorians aged over 12 are now fully vaccinated.

Meantime, testing chaos continues after sites at Albert Park, Montague Street, Bourke Street, Glenroy, Monash, La Trobe Bundoora and Victoria universities were all closed before 9am on Monday as they reached capacity.

The sustained pressure on testing capacity continues, with long lines at testing sites, driving the Department of Health over the weekend to send text messages to some exposure site contacts who were initially advised to get a PCR test to alternatively use a rapid antigen test if they were asymptomatic.

"If you do not have any symptoms or have difficulty accessing a PCR test, Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) is strongly recommended as an alternative to a PCR test," one message sent on Saturday night said.

"If you have a positive RAT you are required to get a PCR test as soon as possible and isolate."

Those who received the text message over the Christmas weekend, will be contacted by the Department of Health again with a reminder to get a PCR test.

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