Two Australian states report record COVID case numbers

SYDNEY – Australia’s Victoria and Queensland states reported record levels of new daily coronavirus infections on Tuesday as pressure on testing centers prompted calls for wider use of rapid antigen tests.

Queensland state reported 1,158 cases, the first time the state has seen more than 1,000 cases in a day, but hospitalizations remained low. The state has more than 4,000 active cases of which 257 are reported to be the omicron variant.

State Health Minister Yvette D’ath announced Tuesday that travelers from out of state no longer will have to have a PCR test five days after arrival. D’ath said of the tens of thousands who had crossed the state’s borders recently, only 0.6 percent had tested positive on day five.

Victoria state reported 2,738 new cases Tuesday, beating the previous state record of 2,297 cases in mid-october.

Australia’s most-populous state, New South Wales, saw a slight fall in case numbers but that corresponded with fewer tests around Christmas Day.

The state reported 6,062 new infections Tuesday, down from 6,324 a day earlier.