GREATER Bendigo has recorded 28 new COVID-19 cases.

Department of Health data released on Tuesday showed 162 active cases in the region.

The new Bendigo coronavirus cases were from the 3550, 3551, 3555, 3556, 3557,and 3558 postcodes.

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There were also dozens of new COVID-19 infections recorded in other parts of central Victoria.

There were 53 new cases in the Macedon Ranges, while the Campaspe Shire recorded 21 new infections and the Central Goldfields Shire had four new cases.

There were also single cases listed in the Mount Alexander, Loddon, and Buloke shires.

Earlier

Victoria has recorded another 14,020 COVID-19 cases since Monday.

It is an increase of 5443 on Monday's daily total of 8577 new cases in Victoria.

Greater Bendigo saw its total active cases rise to 147 on Monday after the municipality recorded 30 new cases.

Another two people have died from the virus and its complications, according to Department of Health statistics released on Tuesday morning.

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A total of 516 spent Monday in hospital with COVID-19, 56 in intensive care and 24 on ventilators.

Health workers tested 60,515 people and vaccinated 192. In Victoria, 11 per cent of people aged 12 and over have received three vaccination doses.

These cases come as COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar has warned anyone who becomes symptomatic "should assume they are already positive" for COVID-19.

Mr Weimar said so far this year, Victoria has already seen more positive cases than the entire first year of the pandemic.

"We are already seeing in the space of three days, more people being infected than over the course of the entire first year of the pandemic," he said.

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"It shows you how fast Omicron is moving and how rapidly we all need to move and change our behaviours to meet this oncoming challenge."

Mr Weimar also said the rate of positive cases of those tested "has never been seen before", making it difficult for labs to get results out as quickly.

"With the high case numbers in our community, we have to assume if we're symptomatic, that we're probably COVID positive," he said.

"PCR results are taking two days to come back because of the high rate of cases coming back positive.

"For anyone who is waiting longer than a day or two for your PCR test results, I do apologise.

"Because the work that our labs are having to do with the higher rate of positive cases in all of our test samples, please wait because your test result will come."

Long waits for PCR test results come as Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out making home-based rapid antigen tests free for families and businesses.

RATs are free in Singapore and the UK but Mr Morrison said making them free in Australia would take away from businesses that were profiting from the sales of the tests.

"We're at another stage of this pandemic now where we just can't go around and make everything free," he told Sunrise.

"We have to live with this virus. This isn't a medicine, it's a test. And so there's a difference between those two things."

The federal government was also working with the states and territories on finalising concessions for pensioners.

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