Coronavirus update for Victoria - Saturday 9 October 2021

Victoria was notified of 1,965 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All were locally acquired.

There are 17,199 active cases in Victoria - all locally acquired. More than 840 of these active cases are in regional Victoria.

There are 578 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. 117 of those cases are in intensive care, with 83 cases on a ventilator.

Sadly, the Department was notified of five deaths yesterday:

two men aged in their 50s from Hobsons Bay and Hume
one man aged in their 60s from Banyule
one man aged in their 70s from Moreland
one woman aged in their 90s from Moreland

This brings the total number of deaths from the current outbreak to 80, and the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 900.

The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 51,012.

Update: Restrictions changes in Mildura, Greater Shepparton and Moorabool Shire

Victoria's Chief Health Officer has declared that the Rural City of Mildura enter a seven-day lockdown commencing at 11:59pm, Friday 8 October, with restrictions the same as those in Mitchell Shire and metropolitan Melbourne (excluding the curfew).

The decision to impose the lockdown was made late yesterday when the public health team raised serious concerns about the rapid growth of positive cases in Mildura. 20 new cases were recorded yesterday, spread across several households, bringing the total number of active cases in Mildura to 37, up from just one case a week ago.

Under lockdown restrictions, you can only leave home for limited reasons: necessary goods and services, caregiving or compassionate reasons (including medical care and getting a COVID-19 test), authorised work or permitted education, exercise and outdoor social interaction in limited groups, and getting a COVID-19 vaccine in the local area.

Locals are asked to be on high alert for symptoms and get tested if any develop. We also remind anyone who has been identified by the Department of Health as a close contact to come forward for testing immediately.

To find your nearest COVID-19 testing site, visit Where to get tested for COVID-19. Operating hours and wait times will vary.

The Chief Health Officer has also declared that lockdown restrictions have been lifted in the City of Greater Shepparton and Moorabool Shire effective from 11:59pm Friday 8 October. For more information on the new restrictions that will be in place in these LGAs, visit How we live: remainder of regional Victoria.

Changes to contact tracing for secondary close contacts

Isolation protocols, including the management of secondary close contacts, have been updated. For more information please visit: What do I do if I live in the same house as a primary close contact?.

Positive case in Virgin Australia cabin crew member

Public health authorities were notified last night that a Virgin Australia cabin crew member, who worked while infectious, has tested positive to COVID-19.

Public health actions are under way. Fellow crew members who live in Melbourne will be contacted by the Department of Health and categorised as close contacts.

Passengers on the affected flights are being contacted by relevant state and territory health authorities.

The flights details (with departure and landing times in brackets) are:

4 October: VA219 Melbourne-Adelaide (10:11-11-09)
4 October: VA218 Adelaide-Melbourne (11:38-13:19)
5 October: VA8127 Melbourne-Sydney (09:09-10:32)
5 October: VA808 Sydney-Melbourne (11:16-12:53)
6 October: VA1593 Melbourne-Newcastle (12:56-14:19)
6 October: VA1594 Newcastle-Melbourne (15:02-16:38

Update: Expansion of the NSW-Victoria cross-border community area

The Victorian local government areas of Benalla, Buloke, Greater Bendigo, Loddon and Yarriambiack have re-joined the cross-border community area, effective from midnight on Friday, 8 October 2021.

The NSW local government areas of Edward River, Hay, Lockhart, Murrumbidgee and Wagga Wagga will also re-join the cross-border community area at midnight tonight.

Residents of the NSW-Victoria cross-border community can only enter and leave the area without a permit if they have not travelled outside the border area for at least 14 consecutive days.

Update: Mask-wearing advice

From 11:59pm Friday 8 October 2021, people can remove their face mask to consume alcohol outdoors.

Ahead of the staged return of schools starting next week, it is intended that students in Year 3 and above will be required to wear a fitted face mask while in the classroom or otherwise indoors at all Victorian schools. This public health measure is also strongly recommended for students in Prep/Foundation through to Year 2 but is not compulsory.

Vaccines

Victorians living with a disability can now get vaccinated at any state-run vaccination centre without a booking.

Disability Liaison Officers are available to help people living with a disability access health services, including vaccination. For more information, visit Vaccine information for people with a disability.

To further enhance the accessibility of our vaccination program, three vaccination clinics are providing an in-person Auslan interpreter service this weekend.

Anyone needing an Auslan interpreter to assist with a vaccination appointment can request one on site this weekend at:

The Royal Exhibition Building, 8:15am - 3:45pm
Melbourne Showgrounds, 9am - 4pm
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 9am - 5pm

Bookings are not required for this service.

In addition, there are regional vaccination centres that offer an on-demand virtual Auslan interpreter service, which is available upon request at the following vaccination centres: Ballarat Mercure Hotel and Convention Centre, Bendigo Health Vaccination Clinic, Cranbourne Turf Club, the former Ford Factory in Geelong, Shepparton Showgrounds, Traralgon Racecourse and Wodonga Vaccination Hub,

Three new pop-up vaccination clinics are open this weekend, providing the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to local residents. The clinics are located at:

Fairhills High School in Knoxfield
Hume Anglican Grammar in Mickleham
Keilor Downs Secondary College.

Following the success of the Western Bulldogs pop-up vaccination clinic at the Whitten Oval, the Department is partnering with the Melbourne Football Club to run a similar clinic next weekend.

From next Friday to Sunday, both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available from the Demons' second home, the Casey Fields Sporting Complex. Both bookings and walk-ups are available from this site.

Yesterday, 41,177 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria's state-commissioned services.

The total number of doses administered through state-run services is 3,859,696.

85.6 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and over have now had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 57 per cent have had two doses.

Victorians are encouraged to book their COVID-19 vaccination through their local GP or community pharmacy, community health service or state vaccination centre. To find a GP or pharmacy provider and make a booking, visit Australian Government Department of Health.

Ten vaccination centres across Melbourne are administering the Moderna vaccine until tomorrow, Sunday 10 October, with 100,000 doses available to anyone aged 12 to 59 years at the following hubs:

Dandenong Palm Plaza
Former Ford Factory, Campbellfield
Frankston Community Vaccination Hub (Bayside Centre)
La Trobe University, Bundoora
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Melton Vaccination Hub (excluding drive-through)
Royal Exhibition Building
Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre
Sandown Racecourse Vaccination Centre
Sunshine Vaccination Hub.

Outbreaks

Of the 1,965 cases reported yesterday, the following Local Government Areas in metropolitan Melbourne recorded more than one newly diagnosed case:

27 cases in Banyule
18 cases in Bayside
9 cases in Boroondara
87 cases in Brimbank
22 cases in Cardinia
208 cases in Casey
72 cases in Darebin
27 cases in Frankston
45 cases in Glen Eira
79 cases in Greater Dandenong
34 cases in Hobsons Bay
307 cases in Hume
31 cases in Kingston
35 cases in Knox
26 cases in Manningham
43 cases in Maribyrnong
26 cases in Maroondah
70 cases in Melbourne
106 cases in Melton
31 cases in Monash
33 cases in Moonee Valley
93 cases in Moreland
19 cases in Mornington Peninsula
13 cases in Nillumbik
39 cases in Port Phillip
15 cases in Stonnington
16 cases in Whitehorse
201 cases in Whittlesea
93 cases in Wyndham
23 cases in Yarra
17 cases in Yarra Ranges.

Overall, there were 735 new cases in Melbourne's northern suburbs, 464 new cases in the western suburbs, 533 cases in the south-eastern suburbs and 125 cases in the eastern suburbs.

There were also 90 cases notified in regional Victoria yesterday:

3 cases in Ballarat
1 case in Bass Coast
13 cases in Baw
1 case in Benalla
1 case in Campaspe
2 cases in Colac Otway
3 cases in Greater Bendigo
6 cases in Greater Geelong
8 cases in Greater Shepparton
7 cases in Latrobe
3 cases in Macedon Ranges
20 cases in Mildura
12 cases in Mitchell
6 cases in Moorabool
1 case in Murrindindi
1 case in Pyrenees
1 case in Strathbogie
1 case in Wodonga

Data on Victorian coronavirus cases is available at Victorian COVID-19 data.

Of the COVID-19 cases in hospital yesterday, 65.3 per cent were not vaccinated, 26.1 per cent were partially vaccinated and 8.5 per cent were fully vaccinated.

There are currently more than 45,500 active primary close contacts in isolation in Victoria.

At midday today, there were 350 published exposure sites in Victoria.

For more information on each exposure site, including dates and times of exposure, please visit Case alerts - public exposure sites.

There may be occasions when the Department is unable to make contact with a business or residential premises before their listing as an exposure site. At all times, we take the decision of when to publish these sites in the interests of public health.

The Department regularly manages exposure sites that it doesn't publish online, particularly if these sites represent lower-risk exposure, or if they have comprehensive record-keeping and contact-tracing measures, or if they identify small, private locations - including smaller apartment or townhouse complexes.

The Commonwealth Government publishes a weekly Common Operating Picture, which includes the effective reproduction number for all states and territories. For more information, refer to Coronavirus (COVID-19) common operating picture.

Wastewater testing

COVID-19 viral fragments have been detected in wastewater samples taken from the following regional areas:

Portland - repeated unexpected detections between 29 September and 7 October.
Cobram - repeated unexpected detections between 29 September and 7 October.
Swan Hill - repeated unexpected detections between 29 September and 7 October.
Ballarat - repeated unexpected detections in areas that include part of Mitchell Park and Wendouree between 28 September and 7 October.
Wonthaggi - repeated unexpected detections for the period 4-8 October.
Apollo Bay - repeated unexpected detections between 28 September and 6 October.
Aireys Inlet - repeated unexpected detections between 15 September and 4 October.

The detections could be an undiscovered new case or cases or could be the result of one or more people in these areas who have recovered from COVID-19 but are still shedding the virus.

Anyone who lives in, works in or has visited the areas above is urged to watch for the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms and get tested as soon as possible if symptoms develop.

For more information on wastewater testing, visit Wastewater testing.

Testing

Victoria recorded yet another strong day for testing yesterday, with 73,443 COVID-19 tests processed.

If you are concerned about losing money from missing work, support is available - including the $450 test isolation payment. For more information, go to Financial and other support for COVID-19.