COVID-19 testing sites in Victoria are this morning preparing for a huge turnout as thousands rush to get a swab before Christmas.
The state recorded 1240 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, with 392 in hospital and 81 of those cases in intensive care.
With the Omicron variant sparking fears of renewed spread, tens of thousands of people have swarmed testing centres to ensure they can safely mingle over the holidays.
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Multiple hospitals and health centres closed testing clinics before midday yesterday, due to huge demand.
There are fears they could be overwhelmed again today.
Acting Premier James Merlino has called for patience all while reassuring a lockdown will not be called.
"I know that there are particular sites where the wait is long but on average, the wait is 45 minutes to an hour or so," he said.
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"So I ask people to be patient, we're expanding it, extending it as much as we can."
However, at some sites, people were left waiting for up to three hours.
Mr Merlino also said yesterday that there would be no changes to restrictions in Victoria - but that some people exposed to the Omicron variant might be asked to quarantine as an "exception to the rule".
"There are no changes to border arrangements, no changes to capacity at events, no changes to density, there's no limits on households," he said.
Crowd limits at the Boxing Day Test are expected to remain at capacity.
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New South Wales is facing a similar testing surge, with the latest reported numbers yesterday indicating more than 148,000 people sought a COVID-19 test in 24 hours.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said many were likely to be people seeking to travel to Queensland, and he thanked them for their patience as the health system grappled with delays imposed by the surge.
The NSW government is also resisting calls for renewed restrictions, with Mr Perrottet saying "personal responsibility" was the key to managing the Omicron outbreak.
