As of Saturday morning, there were 731 infected people in Victorian hospitals, with 109 active in intensive care and 22 on ventilators.Nine people died from the virus in the past 24 hours. Saturday’s total caseload was more than double Friday’s figures – and the highest one-day tally recorded by any state so far during the pandemic – but this is down to the inclusion of rapid tests. “We don’t want Victorians to think that the daily transmission has doubled overnight,” Health Minister Martin Foley said.“The reported figure has certainly significantly spiked based on that week’s worth of unreported figures that we now have captured in the system. “However, we should not rule out that there are still undiagnosed cases out there in the wider community, particularly as access to rapid antigen tests grows each day as more supply that gradually comes online.”Of the new cases, 26,428 were recorded via a rapid antigen test while 24,928 were recorded via a PCR test.The number of people who actually received their positive rapid antigen test result on Friday was 5923.Mr Foley said including RAT tests allowed the state to get a more accurate reading on the overall figure and where it should be allocating resources. The self-reporting system will take some time to reflect the true number of cases from the previous day, as reports from the past week continue to flow in, he added.“(It will) take a few days to bed down this new system,” he said.“I suspect that we will continue to see higher case numbers than the actual number for the previous day for a couple of days yet, whilst those reporting self reporting processes work themselves out.” Most people who reported a positive rapid antigen test got that result earlier in the week and reported it when the state health department web form opened on Friday.Victoria is the first mainland state to set up a reporting system in which anyone who tests positive rapid antigen tests is now considered a probable case of Covid and must immediately isolate for seven days and notify their contacts – just like those who test positive on a PCR test.It is mandatory to report the positive rapid test result to the Department of Health via an online portal that opened on Friday or phone.The goal is to ensure people spend less time at testing centres and focus on isolating and recovering from Covid.It also means Victorians who test negative on a RAT and are not a household contact will be able to resume their lives straight away instead of quarantining while waiting on a negative result.It comes after Victoria recorded 21,728 cases on Friday and six deaths and new rules came into force to deal with the spread of the Omicron variant.Victorian hospitality venues will be required to keep a density limit of 1 person per 2sq m under revised restrictions to limit Covid transmission.A return to the office will also be extended, with the “strong recommendation” that Victorians continue to study and work from home until Australia Day.Mr Foley recently estimated one in fifty people in Victoria were likely infected but, encouragingly, on Saturday said more than 15 per cent of Victorians aged over 18 or 800,000 people have had a third dose of the vaccine.More than 93 per cent of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated.New South Wales on Saturday announced a record 45,098 new cases and nine Covid deaths in the past 24 hours.
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