Australia surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 cases amid third wave

Australia has surpassed 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases as the country continues to battle the third wave of COVID-19 infections.

As of Monday afternoon, there had been 99,032 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Australia, according to the latest figures updated on Monday evening from the Department of Health.

On Tuesday morning, more than 1,700 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases were reported across Australia, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country since the start of the pandemic to beyond 100,000.

New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state with Sydney as the capital city, reported 863 new cases and seven deaths.

There have been 316 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since June 16, 2021, said the statement from NSW Health.

Victoria, the second-most populous state with Melbourne as the capital city, reported a further 867 new local cases and four deaths.

Of Tuesday's new cases 13 were reported in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), at least seven of which were in the community while infectious.

Greg Hunt, the Minister for Health, on Tuesday announced that Australians will be able to test themselves for COVID-19 at home from November 1, inviting test manufacturers to apply for at-home use.

"This is an important additional protection for Australians," he told reporters.

"One of the important things is that we can supplement what is known as PCR testing - the testing that we all know if we go to a Commonwealth or a state clinic - with the home testing."

Hunt said he expects states and territories to mandate that anyone who records a positive self-test will then be required to undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at a health clinic.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said in a media release that to support the safe use of rapid antigen self-tests, it will make a new regulation that will allow companies to formally apply for TGA regulatory approval after October 1 to legally supply their self-tests for use at home in Australia.