School-aged children can test themselves for COVID-19 with almost as much accuracy as healthcare workers.

All it takes is some simple instructions, according to a US study, with participants aged between four and 14 given guidance through a video and handouts.

The study included nearly 200 children and of the self-collected positive results, 97.8 matched up with positive results taken by healthcare workers.

Children who self-tested as negative saw their results match those reported by healthcare workers in 98.1 per cent of cases, according to the Emory University School of Medicine findings published in JAMA.

The study noted each child was supervised while self-testing and all of them were symptomatic.

"Additionally, the results support the potential for non-traditional testing schemes for children, and future studies should investigate unsupervised self-collection and sample drop-off at schools, prior to events, and testing at home," the study said.

About 40 per cent of Australian children aged between five and 11 have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest federal health data.

Third dose coverage stands at more than 71 per cent of the eligible population, including about 55 per cent of eligible Indigenous people and nearly 95 per cent of aged care residents.

More than 76 per cent of eligible NDIS participants have received three or more doses and that jumps up to 91 per cent for NDIS residents.

Australia meanwhile recorded a further 86 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday along with more than 11,000 new virus cases. Some 62 fatalities and 13,500 infections were announced on Friday.

The country still has over 127,000 active coronavirus cases, with more than 3000 patients in hospital care nationwide.

LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA:

NSW: 4738 cases, 20 deaths, 1781 in hospital with 39 in ICU

Victoria: 2532 cases, 39 deaths, 377 in hospital with 16 in ICU

Queensland: 1852 cases, 18 deaths, 305 in hospital with 14 in ICU

WA: 1165 cases, four deaths, 223 in hospital with seven in ICU

ACT: 212 cases, two deaths, 106 in hospital with four in ICU

SA: 566 cases, three deaths, 165 in hospital with eight in ICU

Tasmania: 208 cases, no deaths, 36 in hospital with one in ICU

NT: 97 cases, no deaths, 22 in hospital with none in ICU.