Australia surpasses 500,000 Covid-19 cases

Canberra:  Australia's Covid-19 case number surpassed 500,000 on Tuesday (January 4). 

Chris Moy, vice-president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), said the government has failed to come up with a plan for rapid antigen tests amid reports of supply shortfalls and price gouging.

"There is an inability to supply at the critical moment and there is a lack of equity of access and it is costing so much," sources quoted him as telling Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Tuesday. 

Amid an ongoing wave of infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, there have been more than 500,000 confirmed Covid cases, with that milestone leapfrogged today.

Almost 50% of those cases have been confirmed in the past two weeks.

Health authorities across the country anticipate the number could be much higher, but issues with testing mean the true numbers are not being recorded. 

Meanwhile, PCR testing centres across the nation are under increased pressure as the Omicron variant spreads, with rapid antigen tests unavailable or too expensive. 

The disturbing milestone coincides with daily case number records being smashed in cities including NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and the ACT.