Just under 200 people with coronavirus have been hospitalised, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said.
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Of those, 17 were in intensive care.
Professor Kelly reported 2252 cases in Australia by 6am on Wednesday, with more announced during the day.
He said the increase "is obviously worrying and we are concerned about that". But the hospital system was not yet being overwhelmed, with relatively few people needing hospitalisation.
In total, 197 people had required hospitalisation because they were sick; others had been hospitalised for isolation.
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Professor Kelly said testing criteria had been expanded to now include people with symptoms in high-risk settings - such as prisons, aged care,boarding schools and remote communities.
People in those groups join medical workers and people who have travelled overseas, and people who have been in close contact with a confirmed case as being able to get tested if they get sick. Testing is still not allowed for others with symptoms unless they have an unexplained pneumonia.
Eight Australians have now died, all over 70-years-old.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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