Coronavirus update for Victoria 15 December 2021

Yesterday, 10,781 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services. The total number of doses administered through state-run services is 4,912,426.

94.2 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over have now had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 92.2 per cent have had two doses. This excludes the most recent Commonwealth data.

There are 365 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria – 84 active cases in ICU, with 46 of those on a ventilator. There are an additional 44 cleared cases in ICU. Of those in hospital yesterday, 63 per cent were not fully vaccinated while 91 per cent of those in ICU were not fully vaccinated.

Victoria was notified of 1,405 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All cases were locally acquired except for five cases that were acquired overseas. The 10 Local Government areas with the highest number of new cases are Hume, Casey, Moreland, Brimbank, Whittlesea, Melton, Wyndham, Glen Eira, Monash and Greater Dandenong.

All locations containing new cases will be published today at Victorian COVID-19 data.

There are 11,518 active cases in Victoria. The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 139,804.

Sadly, the Department was notified yesterday of three deaths of people aged in their 70s and 90s. This brings the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 1,427. Of the total number of deaths in the current outbreak, 75 per cent were not fully vaccinated.

77,066 COVID-19 tests were processed yesterday. The total number of tests performed in Victoria since the pandemic began is 16,129,415.

There are currently more than 29,500 active primary close contacts in isolation in Victoria.

Updates

New Omicron cases

Four new confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant have been identified in Victoria. This brings the total number of confirmed Omicron variant cases in Victoria to 10.

Two of the new cases are returned international travellers who recently arrived on separate flights from the United Kingdom. Both cases have been in quarantine since arriving in Melbourne.

One new case is a household contact of a previously identified case and one new case attended the Sircuit Bar in Fitzroy and The Peel Hotel in Collingwood last Friday, 10 December.

Public health advice for these two venues was issued this morning and can been seen at Public health update.

Anyone who attended the Sircuit Bar from 9pm to midnight and the Peel Hotel from 11.30pm to 3am on Friday 10 December needs to quarantine and get tested. The period of quarantine begins from their time of exposure at the venues.

All Victorians can play their part in reducing the spread of Omicron – or any other variant – by getting tested the moment they notice symptoms or as soon as they are told they are a contact, and practising COVIDSafe behaviours such as wearing masks, physical distancing and checking in.

Updated public health orders

Following advice from the Chief Health Officer, the Minister for Health Martin Foley will today sign pandemic orders under the new Public Health and Wellbeing Act, which will come into effect from 11.59pm tonight and be in place until 12 January 2022.

For more details, see Updated public health protections to keep Victorians safe.

Booster vaccinations

There are 720,403 Victorians who are now eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended a five-month interval between second and third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, reduced from six months.

That change in interval means 442,716 Victorians are now overdue for their booster vaccine.

The Commonwealth is leading the national COVID-19 booster dose program with support from the states and territories. While booster doses are available through state-run vaccination centres, the Commonwealth expects the majority of doses to be delivered through GPs and community pharmacies.

There are 6,274 booster appointments (Pfizer vaccine) available across state-run vaccination over the next week. You can also book your booster through your local GP, community pharmacy or community health service.

We encourage everyone to come forward to get their COVID-19 booster shot so you can continue to protect your family, friends and the broader community.

/Public Release. View in full here.