Victorians looking to spend Christmas interstate are facing uncertainty amid flight disruptions and continued pressure on Melbourne testing services.
A number of domestic flights departing Melbourne Airport were cancelled at short notice this morning due to crew members being caught up in COVID infections.
With most states requiring a negative PCR test from within 72 hours before arriving, travellers have also had to brave long delays at testing sites in Melbourne.
Adding to the mayhem, Histopath, a paid express COVID PCR testing facility at the Tullamarine airport — a last resort for those hoping to catch their flight — also stopped serving domestic passengers after "unprecedented demand".
The service is now only providing tests for international travellers on the day of departure, advising them to arrive at least four hours before their flight leaves the airport.
Qantas and Jetstar confirmed many of their frontline staff are in isolation, disrupting some Christmas Eve flight services.
The airline group said it was working hard to get affected passengers on comparable flights.
One passenger heading to Queensland from Melbourne said his travel plans were pushed back by a day because of delays getting tested.
"We've had our dramas getting here, especially getting a certificate for Queensland," he said.
"The pathology [took] nearly three days to receive which put us all back one day."
Testing sites continued to be inundated, with long queues forming hours before many facilities opened.
Several testing centres, including those at Albert Park, South Melbourne, Alfred Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Burwood, Keysborough and Dandenong reached capacity shortly after opening this morning.
On Wednesday, Victoria's COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said health authorities were seeing a "significant demand" from interstate travellers, with more than a quarter of the tests being processed for travel purposes.
Eight more deaths and 2,095 cases
It came as Victoria recorded 2,095 new COVID-19 cases and the deaths of eight people aged in their 40s, 50s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
The new infections were found from 81,565 test results processed on Thursday.
A further 27 new confirmed cases of the Omicron variant were detected, bringing the total number of Omicron infections in the state to 98.
Health authorities warned Victorians to maintain COVID-safe measures while singing after seven cases linked to choir and orchestra rehearsals were detected at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne.
The increased projection of aerosol particles when singing has been linked to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Authorities urged vulnerable members of choirs to "reconsider participation" and for others to take steps to reduce transmission, such as by socially distancing, wearing masks and only performing outdoors.
There are 15,471 active cases of the virus in Victoria, and 663 people have died during the current outbreak.
There are 397 patients in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19, including 75 active cases in intensive care and 40 patients on a ventilator.
The health department said a further 40 people were in intensive care, but their infections had cleared.
Tightened mask rules come into effect
Victoria has tightened its mask requirements in response to the spread of the Omicron variant.
As of 11:59pm on Thursday, people aged over eight must wear masks in all indoor settings, except private homes.
Masks are also required at major events while people are moving around, but not while they are seated outdoors.
On Thursday, Acting Premier James Merlino said Victoria was in one of the "strongest" positions in the world to combat the new variant due to its high vaccination rate.
However, he said there was a "need to be smart" to make sure the health system was not overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, Australians will be eligible to receive their COVID-19 booster shot four months after their second vaccine, with the change to come into effect from January 4.
From the end of January, the interval will change again, meaning people will be eligible three months after their second dose.
Victoria has been pushing for shorter booster intervals, with Health Minister Martin Foley writing to his federal counterpart, Greg Hunt, asking for boosters to be made available from four months after the second dose.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said the mandate would not affect retail or hospitality too much, as people were already used to it after two years of the pandemic.
"I think the biggest impact will be if we have to wear them when we come back into the office," Mr Guerra told ABC Radio Melbourne.
Many CBD businesses had called for earlier mask mandates to be lifted in a bid to get office workers back into the city.
