NSW has recorded 12,226 new Covid-19 cases and one death in the latest reporting period.
A medical worker performs a PCR test at a drive-through Covid-19 test centre in western Sydney. Photo: AFP
That is an increase from the 11,201 cases recorded yesterday.
An aged care resident on the Central Coast died - she was unvaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
Hospitalisations have risen to 746, up from 625, and there are now 63 patients in intensive care.
Some 97,201 Covid-19 swabs were taken on Wednesday, compared to almost 158,000 the day before.
The fall came after Queensland decided to scrap its PCR test requirement for interstate travellers, and the NSW government instructed people to only come out for testing if they were required to, or had symptoms.
Premier Dominic Perrottet also asked NSW Health to work with public and private hospitals to remove the requirement for pregnant women and mothers visiting babies in intensive care to have PCR tests every day.
In previous days people have had to wait up to nine hours in Covid-19 testing queues and have not received results for up to six days.
Private pathology company 4Cyte last night told the ABC it warned governments the system would collapse once travel test requirements came into effect.
"We would like to state that we warned the Victorian and Queensland governments three weeks ago that the requirements for travel - domestic, international and returned travellers were going to create a problem for pathology companies to meet the strict time limits," 4Cyte said in a statement.
The pathology company said travel tests combined with a massive rise in positive cases and close contact notifications had created a "perfect storm".
It said the public's uptake of rapid antigen tests had put more pressure on the system, with anybody testing positive at home then having to present for PCR testing.
Positive patients then require repeat testing in laboratories, which further adds to delays.
"Our staff have worked non-stop for the last three weeks, including the public holidays, in an attempt to help people with their holiday plans and celebrations," 4Cyte said.
"One day last week, we logged almost 100,000 phone calls which is impossible for any company to answer."
National cabinet is meeting today, as Covid-19 cases continue to hit record levels and the PCR test system grapples with long delays.
Leaders will be asked to relax the rules around who is a close contact, with chief medical officer Paul Kelly saying the current testing requirements for close contacts are no longer practical.
Third successive day of record-setting total in Victoria
Victoria has recorded 5137 new Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths as testing centres continue to be overwhelmed by demand.
It is the third day in a row the state has set a new record for daily cases, after 3767 cases were reported on Wednesday.
The state government has told Victorians it expects cases to follow a similar trajectory to New South Wales.
Hospitalisations usually lag behind cases by a week or more but have remained steady so far, with the seven-day average hovering around 379 for the past three days.
There are 395 people in hospital with active Covid-19 infections, of whom 55 are in intensive care and 23 are on a ventilator.
Victorian intensive care clinicians said around 94 percent of the Covid-19 patients in intensive care have not received two doses of a vaccine.
There continues to be high demand at testing centres, with 10 facilities forced to turn people away shortly after opening this morning.
Some people have also reported delays of several days in receiving their test results.
Victorians are being warned case numbers will follow a similar trend to NSW. Photo: AFP
Queensland cases
Queensland has recorded another 2222 new Covid-19 cases.
A total of 103 people are in hospital and another 1809 people are receiving care in their home.
Cases double in a day in Tasmania
Tasmania has recorded 92 new cases and has patients in hospital due to coronavirus-related complications for the first time since borders reopened to hotspots.
Three people are now in hospital, one was admitted for an unrelated medical reason.
It is a new daily record for cases in the state and there are now 386 active cases.
It is almost a doubling of case numbers in one day.
_ABC
