Victoria has recorded 183 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 as the state pushes to get vaccination rates ahead of a rapidly growing outbreak.
Key points:
- The infections were found from more than 48,000 test results
- Authorities are urging Victorians to stick with the state's sixth lockdown rules until vaccination coverage is higher
- More than 60 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and above have now had at least one dose of a vaccine
Of the new infections, 101 have been so far linked to known cases.
The state has stopped providing detail on how many people were in the community while infectious as contact tracers deal with hundreds of new cases.
It brings the total number of active infections in the state to 1,417, with only three of those acquired overseas.
There are 24 people with COVID-19 in Victorian intensive care units, and 13 of them are on a ventilator. Only one of the 89 people in hospital has had two doses of a vaccine.
With the goal of COVID zero now abandoned, authorities have urged Victorians to stick with lockdown rules until vaccination targets are met and it is safe to ease restrictions.
There were 29,950 doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered yesterday at state-run sites, and tens of thousands more through the Commonwealth rollout.
It means more than 60 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and above have now had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
"And we are well on our way to achieving the 1 million jabs over a five-week period," Premier Daniel Andrews said.
There will be a slight easing of restrictions in regional Victoria in the coming week, and Melbourne will get very minor freedoms once the state hits a target of 70 per cent of the 16+ population having one dose of a vaccine.
Those include an extra hour allowed for exercise and the expansion of the 5-kilometre radius to 10 kilometres.
Mr Andrews hinted there may be some further restrictions eased at that threshold if Victorians got vaccinated at a faster rate.
But it is not until 70 per cent of people aged 16 and above have had both doses that Melbourne's extended lockdown will end.
ABC News: Crystalyn Brown
)The most significant opening up will occur once 80 per cent of the 16+ population has had two doses of a vaccine, in line with the National Cabinet plan.
"It is not going away until we get 80 per cent of people through the vaccination program," Mr Andrews cautioned.
"That's the peak. That's the spike that we are going to have to manage."
The new local cases were found from 48,487 test results processed on Saturday.
Mr Andrews said 91 per cent of the new infections were aged under 50.
Overall, 216 of the cases are under 10 years old, 232 are aged 10-19, 348 are aged in their 20s, and 245 are aged in their 30s.
The state saw a significant jump in cases during the week, from 73 on Monday to a high of 208 from Thursday's tests and 190 from Friday's tests.
The number of people in intensive care units across the state has steadily risen along with infection rates.
The Chief Health Officer yesterday said it was not yet clear whether the state had reached its peak, but that it was possible there would be a "steady" continual increase in infection rates like is being seen in Sydney.
There are concerns Victoria's health system would not be able to cope with an influx of COVID patients in hospitals.
A new COVID-19 pandemic ward opened at the Northern Hospital in Epping on Friday afternoon, with 20 of the 24 beds already filled by Saturday.
Cases in Wodonga, Ballarat and at Northern Hospital
The bulk of the new infections continue to be found in Melbourne's north and west, with 53 in the Hume local government area, 17 in Moreland and 21 in Wyndham.
A positive test has been returned in Wodonga, in Victoria's north-east — a truck driver who COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said had "a number of interstate exposure sites but none in Victoria".
There was another positive test result returned in Ballarat.
A worker at the Northern Hospital has also contracted the virus, with Mr Weimar saying it was believed they were infected outside of work.
At least one worker at a Broadmeadows detention centre has now tested positive.
ABC News: Billy Draper
)Mr Weimar said more cases were emerging surrounding a retail strip in the Roxburgh Park and Coolaroo areas.
There are now 63 cases linked to a construction site in Box Hill and another 14 linked to a separate site in Craigieburn.
About 10 per cent of construction sites visited by compliance teams were found to have gaps in their infection control protocols, Mr Weimar said.
Over the last four weeks, industry engagement teams visited more than 600 construction sites.
Mr Weimar said while most construction sites in the state had maintained strong COVID protocols, a small minority of sites had contributed to the growth in cases.
"We have found a small number, less than 10 per cent, who weren't compliant. Fifty-four sites where, particularly in that light commercial construction sector, where mask wearing wasn't as strong as it needed to be, site registers were not as strong as they needed to be, cleaning arrangements were not as strong as they needed to be," Mr Weimar said.
Funding for vulnerable communities extended
The state government has announced an additional $27 million will be added to a $30 million pandemic support package for vulnerable communities affected by lockdown.
It includes $3.7 million for the Red Cross and local governments to keep providing isolation food payments, $6 million for a food relief reserve for major providers like Food Share and OzHarvest, and $2 million for case work support for asylum seekers.
More than $2 million will be allocated to specialist family violence services and more than $7 million will be added to the CALD Communities Taskforce, which is aimed at engaging diverse communities with public health messaging.
"This package is very much about recognising the acute impact of the lockdown, the fact that we are not at a level in terms of community vaccinations that we need to be," Minister Luke Donnellan said.
Yesterday, the state and federal governments confirmed business support payments would continue until the end of September.
A $450 isolation payment is available to workers who miss out on pay due to getting tested.
A further $1,500 is available for people who contract the virus or who have to quarantine for a full 14 days as a close contact.
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Victoria records 183 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19, with 101 linked to known outbreaks - ABC News
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