By Renju Jose

SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Australia’s daily COVID-19 case count reached a new record for Wednesday. This puts further pressure on hospital resources and testing facilities. Public anger over Omicron’s handling is growing.

Australians were already upset by long lines at testing centers and the lack of home tests. They became even more furious when it was revealed that Novak Djokovic, tennis’ world number 1, had received a medical exemption.

Under pressure from voters at the beginning of an election year Scott Morrison has tried to assure them that the Liberal-National Party coalition is in control. However, he has kept tight reins on the purse strings.

Morrison said that “there are no silver bullets” ahead of the meeting of the national cabinet. It is a group of leaders from federal and state governments tasked to deal with the pandemic.

“You just need to find the solution, get it done together, then move on.”

Officials have reported 64,774 cases in a new record, with the bulk of them occurring in New South Wales, Victoria and Victoria. These are the most populous state. This easily surpassed the national total of 47,800 for the day.

The number of total infections has risen by more than 50% from the 1,200 that were detected in November.

Hospital admissions in Victoria and NSW rose by 10% over the day before, with authorities warning that they will rise over the coming weeks.

Susan Pearce (NSW Deputy Health Secretary) told reporters, “We’ve got some tough weeks ahead.”

There have been long waits at public-funded PCR testing centers due to the rapid increase in cases over recent weeks. The authorities asked that people only request PCR tests if they felt symptomatic. In turn, there was a shortage for rapid antigen test kits, which are available at home but can’t be bought privately.

Morrison must call a federal elections before May. He has decided to forgo subsidizing the bulk of at-home testing kits.

Some leaders of the states are likely to push Morrison during Wednesday’s cabinet session to allow for subsidisation of rapid antigen test.

“TAKEN FOR FOOLS”

Djokovic was not required to disclose his status. However, Djokovic previously indicated that he objected to the mandatory vaccinations.

It sparked outrage and condemnation on social media from politicians, athletes and medical professionals.

Kevin Bartlett, a former Australian Rules player tweeted “Australians have been taken for fools.” Corey McKernan was another ex-player who tweeted “People with loved one dying/some needing immediate treatment cannot get in their own states. They tell them they can’t get to Coles [supermarket]Or a cafe, without having to be vaxxed. But if you are world number one you get a pass.”

Many Australians have endured a string of lockdowns in the two-year period, particularly the ones from Melbourne where the inaugural tennis major will be held later this month.

The importance of immunizations was heavily promoted by both the federal government and state governments. The result is that 90% of adults over 16 are now double-vaccinated and there’s a new booster program.

“It sends an appalling message to millions seeking to reduce #COVID19Aus risk to themselves & others. #Vaccination shows respect, Novak,” tweeted Stephen Parnis, a former vice-president of the Australian Medical Association.

Tennis Australia and Victorian’s state government claimed that Djokovic didn’t receive special treatment after a blind review with a panel health professionals.

Morrison stated that the Victorian government had made the final decision when he was asked about his views.

Australia has reported more than 612,000 coronavirus-related deaths and more than 2,290 cases since the pandemic. The majority of these infections were detected in the past week.