Free rapid antigen tests will be distributed in Queensland from Thursday with testing centres struggling as more than 32,000 COVID-19 cases swamp the state.
Another 6781 new cases emerged after 29,418 tests in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Wednesday taking the number of active cases to 32,312.
Ten people were in intensive care, including two on ventilators, while 265 virus patients were in hospital.
There have been 89 outbreaks in Queensland aged care facilities with 25 involving COVID-positive residents.
When an outbreak is identified, residents and staff undergo immediate PCR testing.
The Commonwealth also provides outbreak sites with rapid antigen tests (RATs) to monitor staff and testing of symptomatic residents.
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard says most of Queensland's new cases are milder with more than 17,000 are being supported in home isolation.
He urged people to consider going to hospital only if they're suffering breathlessness, chest pain, fainting or dizziness.
"We've had a lot of reports of people dialling triple zero the moment they get a diagnosis at COVID-19, even with very mild symptoms, and that really is causing a problem in many of our emergency departments, and it's not necessary," he told reporters on Wednesday.
People with mild symptoms, he said, regardless of whether they've been tested, should assume they have the virus and isolate for seven days.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said staffing shortages caused by the outbreak have led to the closure of a number of private testing clinics.
A spike in positive test results has made it unfeasible for labs to quickly process samples in batches, further delaying the process.
Dr Gerrard said only people with symptoms, a positive RAT result or close household contacts should be lining up for PCR tests at the moment.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says new testing clinics will be opened in Ashgrove, Boondall, Edens Landing, Cleveland, Indooroopilly, Wilston and Bundall on Thursday and Friday mornings.
She also says 18 million RATs will start being distributed from state-run testing clinics from Thursday.
"We just need to make it very, very simple and easy, especially to our most vulnerable people at this particular point in time," the premier said.
The RATs will be provided free from public testing sites to people classified as close contacts.
It includes 12 million at-home tests and almost six million point-of-care tests.