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Zane Mellor, one of the six victims of a jumping castle accident in northwest Tasmania, was kind, strong and his mum's "man of the house".

Family and loved ones gathered on Thursday morning in Devonport to farewell the 12-year-old, one week since the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy.

"I was so young when I had you, only 15, and now I know why," Zane's mother Georgie said during her tearful tribute at the funeral.

"You grew up with me, held my hands and kissed my face in all the hard times.

"You were my man of the house always, my protector, my strength, my gamer.

"I love you Zane. No matter what the weather, we're together."

Zane was remembered as an avid gamer who connected with friends from around the world under the nickname 'Jurassic Zane' referring to his love of dinosaurs.

Georgie said he knew every dinosaur name and what period they came from.

She and many others wore Jurassic Park shirts in Zane's honour.

A letter from Zane's grandfather recounted a fishing trip off the northwest town of Stanley where they were surrounded by dolphins.

His aunty described him as "kind and strong".

"He lived life to the fullest and wasn't afraid to show the world who he really was," she said.

"I watched you take your first step ... you were my gaming buddy. You will never be far from our minds."

Messages from Zane's classmates and teachers were also shared.

"I loved your personality, every day you would put a smile on my face," one school friend wrote.

Celebrant Tracey Bruce said Zane had a love of animals and was known fondly as the chicken and cat whisperer.

Ms Bruce said Zane had challenges in life with ADHD and autism, but those quirks made him the character he was.

Streams of people have continued to leave flowers, soft toys and words of support outside the primary school.

Funerals for several of the other young victims are scheduled to be held in Devonport in the coming week.

The condition of two boys badly injured in the accident has steadily improved from critical to stable, Premier Peter Gutwein told reporters in Hobart.

"I understand they have been moved out of the ICU," he said.

One other student injured in the accident is recovering at home.

Around 40 children were enjoying end-of-year celebrations when a freak gust of wind picked up the jumping castle and several inflatable zorb balls.

Police, including specialist officers from NSW, have started interviewing the many young witnesses of the accident, which will be examined by the coroner.

An online fundraising page set up by Devonport local Zoe Smith has raised more than $1.4 million for the families.

The Glenorchy City Council in southern Tasmania has banned jumping castles and inflatable devices being used on council-owned property.

Tasmania's education department has put a stop to inflatable equipment being used on school sites.

© AAP 2021

Masks are again mandatory in all indoor venues outside of the home for Victorians aged eight years and over, in a bid to curtail rising COVID-19 cases and the spread of the Omicron variant.

Acting Premier James Merlino announced indoor mask rules will be expanded in hospitality, entertainment and office settings from 11.59pm on Thursday.

Face masks will also be required at all major events with more than 30,000 patrons, but can be removed while seated outdoors.

Mr Merlino described the measures as modest and common sense.

"This is a sensible response which will allow businesses to stay open, bars and restaurants to continue to stay open and major events to go ahead," he told reporters.

"Masks are a cheap and effective way to maintain the health of the community - it's something public health experts have been calling for.

"The updated mask rules will remain in place until at least January 12."

Federal health officials "highly recommended" wearing masks indoors and other places where social distancing is difficult at Wednesday's national cabinet meeting, but only states and territories have the power to make the mandate.

Before the Omicron variant, the Victorian government planned to relax mask requirements last week but instead kept them in retail settings, for hospitality workers and on public transport.

Victorians are also recommended to work from home over the festive season and hospitality venues should consider moving to seated service-only.

Health Minister Martin Foley also urged people to "save their dance moves for dance floors in well-ventilated outdoor areas".

Mr Merlino said a lockdown was not being considered because of Victoria's high vaccination rate.

The state government will also pour an extra $31 million into supporting the commonwealth's COVID-19 booster program, while awaiting advice on reducing the third dose interval from the expert immunisation panel.

"The interval needs to be shortened and the interval needs to be shortened immediately," Mr Merlino said.

"That's the view of Victoria. That's the view of New South Wales. That's the view of jurisdictions across the country."

Twenty-eight more pop-up vaccination sites will open in the coming weeks and the state's stable of 50 fixed sites are set to extend operating hours to 12 hours a day across the entire week.

Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building clinic had been due to close in December but will now remain open until March 2022.

Victoria reported 2005 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths, marking the state's highest daily infection figure since October 22.

With active cases rising past 14,000, community health service provider cohealth has hired an extra 60 staff to support COVID-19 infected people in Melbourne's west isolating at home during the festive season and into 2022.

It represents a doubling of their staff, who are dropping off festive foods to isolating households on Christmas Day and doing telehealth appointments this week.

Meanwhile, Victoria's testing system continues to strain under the weight of holidaymakers seeking a swab for interstate travel, with at least 20 sites across Melbourne temporarily closed as of 9am after reaching capacity.

© AAP 2021

The number of new COVID-19 infections in NSW has exploded to 5715 - almost equalling the total recorded across the entire country the day before.

The cases were diagnosed from more than 160,000 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday and represent an increase of 1952 from Tuesday.

The figure is just shy of the 5725 cases reported across Australia on Wednesday.

An unvaccinated man in his 40s from western Sydney with underlying health conditions died from the virus.

The number of people in hospital has climbed to 347, up 45, with 45 in ICU, 13 of whom are on ventilators.

Most of the intensive care patients are unvaccinated.

NSW Health is struggling to keep up with the outbreak, with new data showing a significant slowdown in testing turn-around times and case interviews.

Only 52 per cent of cases were notified to NSW Health by laboratories within one day of sample collection in the week ending December 19, down from 85 per cent the previous week.

While 94 per cent of cases were fully interviewed by Health within one day of notification the previous week, now only 54 per cent are.

The surge in cases has also seen the number of healthcare workers in isolation nearly triple - from 459 to 1364 - in a single week.

The dramatic spike in cases just two days before Christmas increases the pressure on the NSW government to reintroduce some restrictions.

Customer Services Minister Victor Dominello has already announced the government had changed its mind on mandatory check-ins to venues across the state.

"Given the increasing Omicron numbers we'll revert back to our pre-15 Dec check-in settings," he tweeted on Thursday.

Check-ins will be mandatory again at supermarkets, shops and hospitality venues.

But Premier Dominic Perrottet is still resisting bringing back mask mandates at indoor venues, despite NSW Health urging everyone to wear them in high-risk settings.

Opposition Leader Chris Minns wants mask mandates reinstated, calling it a "common sense initiative".

"Now is not the time to be stubborn," he said on Thursday.

The government's crisis cabinet is meeting on Thursday to reportedly consider mailing free rapid antigen tests to residents, as testing clinics are overwhelmed and wait times - for tests and results - blow out.

The need to relieve pressure on COVID-19 testing sites across the state is becoming more urgent after days of long queues at the facilities.

Amid reports the government is considering making the unvaccinated pay for their own COVID-19 treatment, Mr Minns said he could not comment on a hypothetical policy.

"Obviously we're open to policy proposals that protect the community, (and) free up health care spaces in our public hospital system," he said.

Sydney remains the state's epicentre of the virus, but transmission is also raging in the Hunter New England area, which has 976 new cases.

The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District has the most cases, with 1186 recorded in the last 24-hour period.

The district has just under one million residents, taking in suburbs like Darlinghurst, Watsons Bay, Maroubra, Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick, Bayside, Kogarah, Hurstville and the Sutherland Shire.

© AAP 2021