Coronavirus crisis: Victoria records 21,728 cases and six deaths

Victoria has recorded 21,728 new COVID cases and six deaths as new rules came into force overnight to deal with the spread of Omicron.

There are 644 people in hospital, with 58 in intensive care. Of those, 24 were ventilated, health officials announced on Friday.

It’s a slight drop on the 21,997 cases and six deaths recorded on Thursday.

New density rules and changes to COVID testing requirements came into effect at midnight.

Indoor venues, excluding cinemas and theatres, must now abide by limits of one person per 2sq m.

“We think this is a sensible change particularly in the face of the continued huge growth of transmission particularly among young people,” Health Minister Martin Foley told reporters on Thursday.

Victorians who test positive to a rapid antigen test will also now be considered probable cases of COVID and be subject to the same requirements as confirmed cases from a PCR test.

They must report their result, isolate immediately for seven days and notify their contacts.

“It’s clearly time to recognise that a positive rapid antigen test has the same authority as a PCR test,” the state’s acting chief health officer Ben Cowie said.

The goal is to ensure people spend less time at testing centres and focus on isolating and recovering from COVID.

The latest results come after government officials revealed an estimated one in 50 Victorians had COVID and 40 per cent were in their 20s.

Community sample testing of positive cases for the Omicron variant also indicates it’s now the dominant strain of COVID in Victoria.