Victoria has recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 for the fourth consecutive day.
Key points:
- The number of active cases of COVID-19 in the state has fallen from 30 to 23
- The COVID-free streak means restrictions are likely to ease on schedule from Friday, but interstate outbreaks remain a concern
- Health Minister Martin Foley says the state could more than double its vaccine delivery if it had the supply
There was one infection detected in hotel quarantine from 20,441 test results processed on Saturday.
It has been nearly two weeks since a positive case has been recorded in someone who was not in quarantine during their infectious period.
The number of active cases in the state has fallen by seven to 23. Health Minister Martin Foley said only five of those were locally acquired infections.
Mr Foley said the more than 20,000 tests processed on Saturday was "a relatively strong number", especially for a weekend.
"But can I use this as an opportunity to yet again remind people that with these outbreaks, particularly north of the Murray, and so many Victorians returning from school holidays in both orange and red zones, there is no more important thing to do than to get tested," he said.
ABC News: Daryl Torpy
)Tightened restrictions remain in place across the state, including caps on gatherings, masks indoors and density limits in place across business and community facilities.
The opposition and industry groups have been calling for more support for businesses hit by the lockdown, and some have said the mask mandate is preventing people from returning to offices.
Masks are effective in stopping the spread of coronavirus.
The current settings are expected to remain in place until at least 11:59pm this Thursday, July 8. An announcement is expected during the week.
More red zones downgraded as Victoria braces for 'incursions'
Which restrictions ease will likely depend on both the situation in Victoria and the rest of the country.
"Our biggest worry in the public health community is the risk of incursions from interstate outbreaks," Mr Foley said.
Overnight, the state moved the Perth and Peel regions in Western Australia to orange zones under its traffic light border permit system. Parts of Queensland, including Townsville, Gold Coast and Ipswich also moved to orange zones.
Anyone who enters the state on an orange zone permit needs to be tested on arrival and quarantine until they receive a negative result.
The City of Brisbane, Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast remain as red zones, as do Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Shellharbour and Wollongong in New South Wales.
Victorians who have been in red zones need to quarantine for 14 days if they return home, while non-residents are effectively banned from the state without an exemption.
The border bubble with New Zealand is set to open back up to Victoria and some other states and territories from tomorrow.
Victoria could 'more than double' vaccine doses, Foley says
ABC News: Oliver Gordon
)There were 15,151 vaccine doses administered in state-run vaccination centres on Saturday, while federal data shows 21,240 doses were administered by the Commonwealth on Friday.
Mr Foley again took aim at the Commonwealth over the vaccine rollout, reiterating his government's complaint that supply to state-run centres is being reduced in the month ahead.
Forward estimates about vaccine allocation released by the federal government last month show in July to August, Victoria is due to receive 85,540 to 100,000 Pfizer doses for its state-run clinics.
Another 66,617 to 77,000 Pfizer doses are being provided as part of the Commonwealth rollout in the state, which the federal government has pointed to when defending the apparent reduction to the state sites.
Mr Foley referenced the "uptick" in allocation for New South Wales, which will receive 104,910 to 120,600 Pfizer doses through its state mechanisms in the same time, with 102, 253 to 118,000 through the Commonwealth rollout.
New South Wales is currently battling a growing COVID-19 outbreak, but the vaccine allocations were announced before the situation escalated.
"We wish them every success of course, but what we are concerned about is that there's a clear appetite for Victorians to get vaccinated. What we have to do is just calibrate that down," Mr Foley said.
Mr Foley said Victoria estimated it could "more than double" the delivery of Pfizer and other vaccines from today, if the state was given the supplies, saying the state-run centres remained "under-utilised".
He said conversations were ongoing with the Commonwealth about an increase to supply in the future, and "we're hopeful that those conversations will be fruitful".
GP clinics reporting abuse about vaccines
Australia's professional body for general practitioners has renewed calls for the federal government to provide clearer messaging about COVID-19 vaccines following reports of abusive behaviour towards staff at GP clinics.
President of the Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Karen Price said many clinics, including her own, had been the target of anger from members of the public.
Dr Price, a Melbourne GP, said the anger was coming from people who were confused about changing medical advice for vaccines.
The advice from Australia's vaccine advisory board is for people under the age of 60 to not have the AstraZeneca shot, but doctors have recently been provided indemnity for administering the dose for young people who consent to the jab.
"Often people don't behave like this to doctors, it's often just reserved for receptionists, and we know this well in medical practice," Dr Price said.
"But people are getting frustrated that appointments are being moved but also that they can't get a choice of vaccine. So at this point, they see AstraZeneca as the bad vaccine and Pfizer as the good vaccine and that's not the case at all."
Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are shown to be incredibly effective in preventing serious illness from COVID-19, and the risk of a very rare blood clotting disorder associated with AstraZeneca is very low.
A survey from the RACGP found more than half of GPs considered the rollout for COVID-19 vaccines to be ineffective, and more than 90 per cent said greater public awareness was needed.
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Victoria records no new local COVID cases for fourth day in a row - ABC News
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