Gea Local: National record after Victoria reports 1838 new local COVID-19 cases

Victoria recorded 1838 local COVID-19 cases and five deaths on Friday morning, as it emerged that defence staff and SES members would be deployed to drive ambulances after record-breaking demand on the service.

There were 36,600 vaccination doses administered on Thursday, and more than 77,500 COVID-19 tests returned.

Victoria had 16,823 active COVID-19 cases, and Friday’s daily case total was a record-high.

The figures came after former Victorian police chief Graham Ashton announced a review into the state’s emergency call centre operator, which has been keeping triple-zero callers on hold because of the extraordinary level of demand for emergency support.

The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) has been beset with staffing issues and glitches to its operating system since late last year. The problems coincided with an unseen volume of triple-zero callers, driven partly by the amount of Victorians who deferred care during lockdowns, exacerbating their ailments.

Mr Ashton, who left the police force in 2020, will review ESTA’s functions and capabilities, and make recommendations to the government by early next year.

Ambulance Victoria executive director of clinical operations Mick Stephenson said requests for ambulances had climbed to record levels, with four of the service’s five busiest days in history recorded in the past fortnight and demand comparable only to the deadly thunderstorm asthma event in 2016.

To help cope with the demand, Victorian paramedics will, from next week, enlist drivers from the Australian Defence Force, St John Ambulance Australia, State Emergency Service, or its student paramedic ranks.

It will be the first time in Ambulance Victoria’s history emergency vehicles will be sent out with just one paramedic on board.

ESTA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Marty Smyth, confirmed two people in Melbourne had died from cardiac arrest after waiting around five minutes each for their triple zero calls to be answered.

A key performance indicator for the service was that 90 per cent of calls were answered in five seconds, but he told 3AW Mornings the measure had dropped to less than 70 per cent of calls being picked up in that timeframe, and “even lower on some days”.

“Last year we were looking at probably 2000-2400 calls a day. This year, in the last couple of weeks in particular, we’re exceeding 3000 calls a day,” he said.

Two early learning centres, a Geelong arena and a popular coastal bakery were listed as Victoria’s latest exposure tier-1 sites on Friday morning.

Nido Early School in Airport West was visited by a person with COVID-19 on October 4, meaning children, staff and parents are now expected to isolate for 14 days and get tested as soon as possible.

Gippsland’s Drouin Primary Early Learning Centre, 90 kilometres east of Melbourne, was listed as a tier-1 exposure site for October 4.

Further regional Victorian exposure sites included the RMIT Hangar at Bendigo Airport on October 4, and Seda College Geelong’s multi-use space at the Geelong Arena on October 4.

Rolling Pin Pies & Cakes bakery in Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula was listed as a tier-1 exposure site on October 2.

International students could start returning to Victoria to study before the end of this year in a new plan floated by the state government.

In the first stage of the plan, about 120 students would return to the state each week. Health and medical degrees and post graduate research would be given priority.

Students entering Victoria as part of the scheme would be in addition to the state’s existing overseas arrivals cap, meaning they would not take the place of returning citizens. Victorian universities would provide the funding for the extra quarantine spots.