There are 528 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria – with 21 active cases in ICU, including 9 on a ventilator, and an additional 9 cleared cases in ICU.
6,250,655 vaccine doses have been administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services, with 1,715 doses administered yesterday at state-run centres.
67.5 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and over have had three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. 94.6 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over have had two doses.
9,934 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded yesterday. This includes 6,992 who tested positive on a Rapid Antigen Test and 2,942 who returned a positive result on a PCR test.
Sadly, the Department was notified of 17 deaths yesterday in people aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, including two historical deaths that were reclassified. This brings the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 3,432.
There are 56,235 active cases in Victoria.
17,473 PCR tests were processed yesterday. The total number of PCR tests performed in Victoria since the pandemic began is 21,062,550.
Updates
Omicron sub-lineage detections in wastewater
COVID-19 Omicron sub-lineages have been consistently detected at low levels in wastewater samples taken from catchments in metropolitan and regional Victoria.
The Omicron BA.2 sub-lineage currently comprises 97 per cent of all COVID-19 strains identified via wastewater samples since mid-April and remains the dominant variant in Victoria.
The newer sub-lineages of BA.4 and BA.2.12.1 continue to be detected at very low levels – three per cent and less than one per cent, respectively.
The BA.4 and BA.5 strains have been detected at Tullamarine Airport, in multiple residential catchments across Melbourne – with the highest levels in the outer southern and eastern suburbs – and in residential catchments in and around the Greater Geelong area.
These detections likely indicate early phases of community transmission in Victoria.
Evidence suggests the Omicron sub-lineages BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 are more able to evade immunity from earlier COVID-19 infection and vaccination. There is no evidence to suggest they cause more severe disease.
The Department of Health will continue to evaluate our surveillance program as the situation unfolds over coming weeks.
More Victorians now eligible for a COVID-19 ‘winter’ dose
More Victorians at greater risk of severe disease can now get a fourth COVID-19 ‘winter’ dose from GPs, pharmacies and state vaccination centres. In addition to those already eligible, ATAGI now recommends the dose for people aged 16 to 64 who have:
- a medical condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 illness, or
- disabilities with significant, complex or multiple health issues, which increase the risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 infection.
Visit Who can get vaccinated against COVID-19
