Coronavirus update for Victoria 4 January 2022

There are 516 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria – 56 active cases in ICU, with 24 of those on a ventilator. There are an additional 52 cleared cases in ICU.

5,036,286 vaccine doses have been administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services, with 192 administered yesterday at state-run centres.

94.5 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over have now had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 92.9 per cent have had two doses. This excludes the most recent Commonwealth data.

11 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over have had three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. This includes third primary doses, as well as third doses (which are currently available for people 18 and over).

Victoria was notified of 14,020 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All cases were locally acquired. The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Wyndham, Casey, Melbourne, Brimbank, Hume, Stonnington, Whittlesea, Port Phillip, Yarra and Melton.

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

Community sample testing of positive cases for the Omicron variant indicates that it is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Victoria. 76 per cent of samples collected over the Christmas period were the Omicron variant. Further testing to confirm this finding will take place over the coming week.

There are 48,297 active cases in Victoria. The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 213,490.

Sadly, the Department was notified yesterday of two deaths of people aged in their 80s. This brings the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 1,542.

60,515 COVID-19 tests were processed yesterday. The total number of tests performed in Victoria since the pandemic began is 17,573,427.

There are currently more than 10,820 active close contacts in isolation in Victoria.

Updates

Testing

A number of private pathology testing sites have suspended operations and will remain closed for at least the remainder of this week. This is so private providers can process a backlog of outstanding tests.

See Where to get tested for a list of private pathology centres affected by this temporary closure.

Larger testing centres delivered by the Department of Health remain open, and you can use the map of testing centres to find open testing sites and see wait time and queue suspensions.

We thank Victorians for their patience and understanding while we manage unprecedented demand on the network.

Only people with COVID-19 symptoms and people who have tested positive on a Rapid Antigen Test should be getting a PCR test currently.

(In addition, people who are required to use Rapid Antigen Tests (e.g., asymptomatic household contacts) but cannot access a Rapid Antigen Test can get a PCR.)

Asymptomatic people in the community who want to check if they have COVID-19 should not get a PCR test. They should opt for Rapid Antigen Tests, and if they are currently unavailable, should continue to monitor for symptoms and stay COVIDSafe.

The Victorian Government has secured an order for 34 million Rapid Antigen Tests to be delivered by the end of January.

We will have more to say about the distribution of free Rapid Antigen Tests soon.

Third doses

If you’re aged 18 or over and had your second vaccination four or more months ago, you’re eligible for your third dose. You can get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines regardless of the COVID-19 vaccine you received for your initial doses.

The Department of Health is progressively sending SMS reminders to 2.2 million Victorians as they fall due to remind them to book their third dose.

You can book your third dose vaccination appointment online. For walk-ins, please check the list of vaccination centres to find the opening hours for individual sites.

Otherwise, to obtain your vaccination, please use the vaccine clinic finder to find a participating GP or pharmacy.

To access the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Victoria, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Victoria website

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