National cabinet agreed on a nationwide definition of a close contact of a COVID-19 case on Thursday – under the new definition a close contact must have spent over four hours with a positive case in a household or household-like setting.

National cabinet also eliminated restrictions and testing requirements for casual contacts of a COVID-19 case and slashed the isolation period for close contacts and confirmed cases.

Close contacts now isolate for seven days from the date of exposure and take a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) on day six, while confirmed cases must isolate for seven days, and take a RAT on day six.

Victoria recorded 5919 cases and seven deaths in the 24 hours to Friday and hospitalisations rose to 428.

New South Wales recorded 21,151 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths in the 24 hours to Friday, December 31.

The Western District Health Service (WDHS) drive-thru testing team at the Hamilton Showgrounds have been busier than ever over the Christmas period, as changes to testing requirements for interstate travellers have placed significant pressure on drive-thru staff and the entire healthcare system.

WDHS chief executive, Rohan Fitzgerald said staff had responded brilliantly to the heightened demand as they have done right throughout the pandemic.

“At a time when we would normally be supporting healthcare workers to take a well-deserved break, we relocated to the Hamilton Showgrounds, opening up more testing clinics,” he said.

“Southern Grampians residents and visitors turned out in large numbers, with over 850 people swabbed at the Showgrounds since Boxing Day.

“It’s a tough job working in full personal protective equipment in the heat of an Australian summer and makes the testing process more challenging.

“Even though new testing rules were announced recently for close contacts, the basic message remains unchanged - if you have COVID-19 symptoms you must get a PCR test.

“The WDHS drive-thru will continue to operate from the Hamilton Showgrounds for the foreseeable future given the current demand, although due to the hot weather the operating hours are now 8am to 11am.  

“Our staff continue to step up, making significant sacrifices to bring services to our community in response to COVID-19, and I can’t thank them enough for their dedication to keeping our community safe.”