HAVE you been waiting for a PCR test result but received a text saying your sample is no longer suitable to be tested?

COVID commander Jeroen Weimar said some pathology clinics have the decision to not process test results that were older than seven days.

"I understand the reasons for doing so and I have a lot of sympathy for it," Mr Weimar said.

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"Clearly, the increasing value of a test that is that old is significantly diminished and there will be some lab issues as well in terms of their integrity.

"I would always rather that the labs made strong and bold decisions that allows us to be clear about that."

Mr Weimar said about 7000 people have been caught up in the decision.

"I appreciate they would have been in isolation and waiting for seven days already," he said.

"Bearing in mind that the isolation guidelines are that people need to isolate for seven days, I would advise them to check their own symptoms and urge them to get another rapid antigen test or a PCR test and use that to make the determinations about the next steps."

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Mr Weimar said the backlog of PCR tests were starting to clear up, with about 50 per cent of tests being returned within 48 hours.

"We're working very hard through the labs to either get the times down and we're starting to see signs of improvement," he said.

"Can I thank everybody for being patient and if you're waiting for a PCR test result, please be assured that you will get a result, you will get a message from the lab at some point.

"It may not be as quick as we would like, but the times are starting to come down and you will get a swift result."

Noon

GREATER Bendigo has recorded 72 new coronavirus cases.

Data from the Department Health released on Sunday showed there were 279 active cases in the region.

The new COVID-19 cases were from the 3550, 3551, 3555, and 3556 postcodes.

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There were also more coronavirus infections recorded in other parts of central Victoria.

In the Macedon Ranges, there were 68 new cases, while the Campaspe Shire recorded 18 new infections.

There were also 17 new cases in the Central Goldfields, seven in the Mount Alexander Shire, four in the Gannawarra Shire, and a single case in Buloke.

Earlier

VICTORIA has recorded 44,155 new coronavirus cases.

Data from the Department of Health released on Sunday showed about half of the new cases were from rapid antigen tests.

Another four people have died from the virus and its complications.

A total of 752 spent Saturday in hospital with COVID-19, while 104 people received intensive care and 23 patients were on ventilators.

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It came after the state hit a record-high 51,356 cases on Saturday.

Health Minister Martin Foley said Victorians should expect high COVID-19 case numbers for the next few days as the backlog of positive rapid antigen tests were reported.

"What it means is it has now given us a realistic idea of transmission in the community," he said. "We knew there was undiagnosed cases out there.

"What we now know is that the figure for cases in the wider community is more accurate than we had previous to just taking the PCR figure tests."

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"This is in many respects exactly what we wanted to happen and we thank all of those people for reporting their COVID status to us.

"Nobody wants COVID, nobody wants the Omicron variant, but it is so important for responding and keeping people in touch with services and support

"It will necessarily take a few days to bed down this new system."

Greater Bendigo saw another spike in cases on Saturday, with 132 new cases recorded. There are 262 active cases in the region.

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