Coronavirus update for Victoria – Monday 18 October 2021

Victoria was notified of 1,903 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All were locally acquired cases.

There are 22,327 active cases in Victoria.

There are 851 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. 155 of those cases are in intensive care, with 103 cases on a ventilator.

Sadly, the Department was notified of seven deaths yesterday:

  • a man in his 50s from Brimbank
  • a woman in her 60s and a man in his 90s from Whittlesea
  • a man in his 70s from Baw Baw
  • a woman in her 70s from Moreland
  • a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 90s from Casey.

This brings the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 970.

The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 67,457.

Restrictions

From 11.59pm Thursday 21 October, non-household primary close contacts (PCCs) who are fully vaccinated will only need to quarantine for 7 days. For more information, see Safe and sensible isolation changes as we hit 70 per cent.

Thanks to the incredible efforts of the Victorian people, lockdown (and the curfew) will lift in restricted areas across Victoria at 11:59pm Thursday 21 October.

For more information on eased restrictions across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria from this date, visit Victorias roadmap.

For information on current restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne, visit How we live: metropolitan Melbourne and Mildura Rural City Council.

Vaccines

Yesterday, 32,405 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services.

The total number of doses administered through state-run services is 4,197,152.

89.2 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and over have now had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 66.5 per cent have had two doses. This excludes most recent Commonwealth data.

New community pop-up vaccination sites will open this week offering walk-ups at the following locations:

  • Victorian Pride Centre, St Kilda
  • Queerspace, Carlton
  • East Reservoir Senior Citizens Centre
  • Our Lady Guardian of Plants Chaldean Catholic Church, Campbellfield
  • Kingsbury Bowling Club
  • Craigieburn Sports Stadium
  • Fawkner Community Hall
  • Sacred Heart Mission, St Kilda
  • EACH Building, Yarra Junction
  • Bunjil Place, Narre Warren

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’s website.

Outbreaks

Of the 1,903 locally acquired cases reported yesterday, the following Local Government Areas in metropolitan Melbourne recorded more than one newly diagnosed case:

  • 22 cases in Banyule
  • 12 cases in Bayside
  • 13 cases in Boroondara
  • 149 cases in Brimbank
  • 31 cases in Cardinia
  • 188 cases in Casey
  • 59 cases in Darebin
  • 41 cases in Frankston
  • 16 cases in Glen Eira
  • 158 cases in Greater Dandenong
  • 36 cases in Hobsons Bay
  • 176 cases in Hume
  • 44 cases in Kingston
  • 26 cases in Knox
  • 10 cases in Manningham
  • 29 cases in Maribyrnong
  • 14 cases in Maroondah
  • 43 cases in Melbourne
  • 115 cases in Melton
  • 31 cases in Monash
  • 39 cases in Moonee Valley
  • 85 cases in Moreland
  • 27 cases in Mornington Peninsula
  • 10 cases in Nillumbik
  • 28 cases in Port Phillip
  • 16 cases in Stonnington
  • 28 cases in Whitehorse
  • 130 cases in Whittlesea
  • 108 cases in Wyndham
  • 15 cases in Yarra
  • 15 cases in Yarra Ranges

There were 497 new cases in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, 519 new cases in the western suburbs, 592 cases in the south-eastern suburbs and 106 cases in the eastern suburbs.

There were also 166 new cases notified in regional Victoria yesterday. The total number of active cases in regional Victoria stands at 1,794. New cases in regional Victoria yesterday were:

  • 3 cases in Ballarat
  • 2 case in Bass Coast
  • 19 cases in Baw Baw
  • 1 case in Campaspe
  • 1 case in Colac-Otway
  • 2 cases in East Gippsland
  • 2 cases in Ganawarra
  • 14 cases in Greater Bendigo
  • 38 cases in Greater Geelong
  • 12 cases in Greater Shepparton
  • 29 cases in Latrobe
  • 3 cases in Macedon Ranges
  • 9 cases in Mildura
  • 11 cases in Mitchell
  • 10 cases in Moorabool
  • 2 case in South Gippsland
  • 2 case in Surf Coast
  • 2 cases in Swan Hill
  • 2 case in Wangaratta
  • 2 case in Wodonga

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

There are currently more than 61,300 active primary close contacts in isolation in Victoria.

At midday today, there were around 120 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:

  • Yarrawonga – unexpected detection for the period 12 – 14 October
  • Mallacoota – repeated unexpected detections for the period 5 – 13 October
  • Lakes Entrance – repeated unexpected detections for the period 6 – 15 October
  • Cobram – repeated unexpected detections for the period from 29 September onward
  • Apollo Bay – repeated unexpected detections for the period 28 September – 8 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

69,825 COVID-19 tests were processed in Victoria.

If you are concerned about losing money from missing work to get a test, support is available – including the $450 test isolation payment. For more information, go to Financial support.

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

More information

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

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