The Australian government declared on Friday that asymptomatic COVID-19 patients will no longer be required to undertake a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) before being discharged from isolation, overturning restrictions that had only been announced a day earlier.
According to media, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that asymptomatic COVID sufferers need not need to take a RAT on the sixth day after a PCR test verified their infection. This comes less than 24 hours after the guidelines were released following a hastily convened national cabinet meeting on December 30.
People who have been tested for COVID-19 but have no symptoms will not be required to submit a negative test before the conclusion of their seven-day isolation period, according to the new guideline. According to the federal government, confirmed patients with symptoms should be isolated, and anyone with symptoms must get a PCR test. In the meanwhile, persons who have been ordered to spend seven days in isolation due to close connections must still submit a negative RAT report on day six. The decision was unveiled during a meeting between the nation’s leaders, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, and his state and territory counterparts, according to the newspaper.
New Coronavirus infections in Australia hit a new high of over 32,000 on Friday, only days after passing the 10,000 threshold for the first time. Experts say the fast-spreading Omicron strain, as well as recent regulatory liberalisation in Sydney and other areas, is fueling the country’s expansion. More than 15,000 new cases have been reported in Sydney. According to media reports, another 5,000 cases have been verified in various parts of New South Wales, while over 6,000 cases have been confirmed in Victoria.
