Density limits brought back, new reporting guidelines for positive cases

It will become mandatory to report a positive rapid antigen test result to the Department of Health over the phone or by using an online form, but Victorians no longer need to line up for a PCR test following a positive RAT test.

Acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie said it was “the biggest change to our testing system since the start of the pandemic”.

“In terms of context, I think it is important to reflect the number of people that our PCR testing system diagnosed yesterday was greater than the number our PCR testing system diagnosed for the entire 2020, and it’s likely that in the first 10 days of this year, our testing system will diagnose more people than it did in all of 2021,” he said.

Meanwhile one in 20 Victorians in their 20s have coronavirus, according to Health Minister Martin Foley.

One in 50 Victorians have the coronavirus, but Mr Foley said younger people were fuelling the spike in new cases, which officially topped 20,000 for the first time on Thursday.

More than 68,000 positive results were reported across the country on Thursday, but it was expected to be a severe undercount, with hospitalisation numbers also increasing.

The government has urged all venues to shut dance floors and only have food service; however, this is not mandatory.