Victoria is facing a severe heatwave and the condition of Covid’s already overwhelmed state test system is expected to worsen even further.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts temperatures in Melbourne of 38 ° C for New Year’s Eve and 36 ° C for New Year’s Eve.

As early as Thursday at 2:30 p.m., temperatures in some areas of the state exceeded 35 degrees.

Nhill and Warracknabeal in the Wimmer region of Victoria and Hopetoun in Mallee recorded 35.8 ° C. Melbourne Airport recorded 33.1 ° C and the Olympic Park recorded 28.9 ° C.

Victoria’s director of health, Professor Brett Sutton, has warned that some Covid test sites may have to close within the next three days due to excessive heat, especially in outdoor tents.

In his daily update, Prof Sutton explained that the temperatures in the tents can even rise by 10 ° C and that the test staff work in full PPE. This is an additional burden on a system that is already struggling with high demand.

There were 29 test sites in Victoria which closed at 2:00 p.m. Thursday because they were crowded. Victoria recorded 5,137 new cases on Wednesday and 13 deaths. The state processed 81,093 tests.

The Werribee News Reported there are currently over 20,700 active isolated close contacts. Infectious disease experts said on Wednesday Australia needed a testing overhaul to help fix the overwhelmed system.

Professor Ben Marais, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Sydney, said the huge queues at test sites are a major concern as they create a risk of transmission.

University of Melbourne epidemiologist professor Tony Blakely said there is a need for a review of how we test “because we are at a different stage with more infections.”

Professor Blakely suggested a triage system at test sites using government stocks of rapid antigen tests strategically to lighten the load.

“This kind of thing reduces the demand for testing so you can get the best value for money, which means getting people in line quickly and securely and getting the results back to people quickly within 24 hours, so it’s more effective at attenuating transmission, “he said