Victoria was notified of 176 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All were locally acquired cases.
There are 1,029 active cases in Victoria - 1,026 locally acquired and three overseas acquired cases.
There are 61 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. 20 cases are in intensive care and 13 cases are on ventilators.
The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 22,361. Two historic cases were re-classified.
Update: NSW / Victoria border changes
With over one thousand cases per day and a trajectory of exponential growth, the risk that NSW poses to Victoria is greater than ever.
It's crucial that our quarantine and testing obligations are adequate for the workers travelling in and out of NSW extreme risk zones.
The Specified Worker List will now be reduced and we are increasing testing obligations for those who are entering on a Specified Worker Permit. They will need to be tested within 72 hours of entering Victoria, on days 6, 7 or 8 after entry and again on day 13 or 14. This will come into effect from 6:00pm tomorrow (Friday 3 September).
Border bubble arrangements will still be tightened from 11:59pm tonight (Thursday 2 September).
Crossing the border will no longer be permitted to attend physical recreation facilities and the number of communities in the border bubble will also be reduced.
Six Victorian local government areas including Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton, City of Benalla, Buloke, Loddon, Yarriambiack and two NSW LGAs - Broken Hill and Edward River - will no longer be defined as cross border communities. This means residents in those LGAs will not be eligible for a cross-border Extreme Risk Zone permit to enter Victoria or return from NSW.
Update: Restrictions
Due to the ongoing level of community transmission and the continued number of unlinked cases across Victoria, the Chief Health Officer has declared that almost all of the current lockdown restrictions will remain in place until 70 per cent of Victorians have had at least one dose of vaccine. This is estimated to be around 23 September.
Until then there will still be only five reasons to leave home: shopping for food and supplies, authorised work and study, care and caregiving, exercise, and getting vaccinated. Other restrictions, including mask wearing, will stay the same.
From 11:59pm tonight (Thursday 2 September), playgrounds will re-open with strict rules to keep everyone safe. Playgrounds will be for children under 12 with only one parent or carer, and adults should not remove their masks to eat or drink. Playgrounds will also have QR codes for checking in. In-home care, such as babysitters, will also be expanded to school aged children but only if both parents are authorised workers.
Further information about the easing of restrictions when 70 per cent of Victorians have had at least one vaccine dose is available at Slowing the spread and keeping our state safe.
Update: Priority vaccination access for Year 12 students
A priority vaccination program from Tuesday 7 September until Friday 17 September is in place to ensure our senior students sitting year 12 exams have certainty and are ready for exams.
As part of this program, year 12 students will be given priority booking access at our state-run clinics, as will their teachers and examiners. Students and teachers will need to book an appointment, as walk ups are not available as part of this blitz.
Students and teachers will be able to book one of these priority appointments from Monday 6 September. The Department of Health and the Department of Education will work directly with schools, and students and parents will receive the advice on how to arrange a booking through their schools.
Vaccines
Yesterday, 33,720 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria's state-commissioned services yesterday.
The total number of doses administered through these services is 2,483,396.
More than five million doses have been administered through all Victoria vaccination sites since the program commenced.
Getting vaccinated has never been more important - it is our way out of this pandemic. Nearly three weeks ago we announced a goal to administer one million doses in five weeks, and we are now more than half-way to that goal with 555,771 doses delivered.
Everyone between ages 16 to 59 is now eligible to receive Pfizer vaccinations through both state-run centres and participating GPs.
In line with advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, the dosage interval for AstraZeneca vaccinations will be revised down from 12 weeks to 6 weeks for all Victorians from today. This now matches the recommended dosage interval for Pfizer vaccines. This change, and the additional supply of Pfizer from the Commonwealth when it arrives, will help us to reach our vaccination targets faster.
AstraZeneca is a safe and effective vaccine and there are more than 64,000 Astra Zeneca appointments available across Victoria over the next two to three weeks.
If you're yet to be vaccinated, please book your appointment today - either in the state system, or in your general practice or local pharmacy. If have any questions or concerns you can talk to a GP, pharmacist or to a senior and experienced immuniser at our state-run sites.
If you are booked in for an appointment at the Royal Exhibition Building from next Monday through to the end of September, you'll be notified of a change of venue to the neighbouring Melbourne Museum.
The temporary Museum site will have the same capacity and operate during the same hours. Your booking will be updated automatically, and you will receive a text message that will provide information on the new location details.
