Coronavirus update for Victoria - 12 April 2021

Victoria has been notified of 0 locally acquired and 2 overseas acquired cases since yesterday. Both cases are flight passengers in hotel quarantine.

This is the 45th day in a row that Victoria has recorded no locally acquired cases.

The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 20,487.

Update: Vaccinations

A total of 903 COVID-19 vaccination doses were administered yesterday by state commissioned services across Victoria. This brings the total number of vaccine doses administered by the Department as of yesterday to 144,320.

Victoria’s state-run vaccination centres will continue pausing administration of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as health officials continue to work through the implications of advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Last week, the Victorian Department of Health advised health services to reschedule any forward bookings for people aged under 50 receiving their first dose of AstraZeneca until further information was received from the Commonwealth.

The Department has today advised all state commissioned vaccination services to continue this pause until:

• Further provider and consumer information is made available by the Commonwealth and translated into languages other than English
• A new and compulsory training package is completed by all staff administering vaccines, and
• The Department and health services are satisfied with legal advice received on indemnity.

These requirements will ensure an informed decision can be made by people aged under 50 preparing to receive a first dose of AstraZeneca – as recommended by ATAGI.

They will also ensure practitioners responsible for its administration are indemnified, and state-run sites can continue to run smoothly and vaccinate Victorians responsibly.

Victoria remains supportive of the Commonwealth’s program and aims to ensure Victorians are vaccinated against coronavirus as quickly and as safely as possible.

As such, the Victorian Government has asked the Commonwealth Government to divert future AstraZeneca deliveries scheduled for state sites over the next fortnight to Victorian GPs.

This will provide additional supplies enabling GPs to vaccinate Victorians over the age of 70 as quickly as possible.

Health services are advised to continue to provide the AstraZeneca vaccine to eligible people aged over 50, and to eligible people receiving their second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine without any previous severe adverse reaction, in line with ATAGI’s recommendations.

This advice does not affect the delivery of the Pfizer vaccine through state commissioned sites where supply is available.

Victorian health officials continue to work closely with the Commonwealth, health services and
representatives of general practice to understand the full clinical and operational implications of ATAGI’s recommendations on the broader vaccine rollout across Victoria.

Health services across Victoria – and all their clinical decision makers and dedicated health professionals – have worked hard to to understand and implement the updated ATAGI advice.

Throughout this pandemic, health professionals have continued to adapt and keep Victorians safe. The Victorian people are enormously grateful for their dedication.

Update: Travel permit zones

Based on an assessment of public health risks, the Chief Health Officer has declared the following areas are now designated green zones under Victoria’s ‘traffic light’ travel permit system as of 11:59pm yesterday, 11 April:

• Greater Brisbane (City of Brisbane, City of Ipswich, Logan City, Moreton Bay Region, Redlands City)
• The Gladstone region in Queensland
• Byron Shire in New South Wales

Arrivals from green zones still require a permit to enter Victoria, because the information provided supports the speed of Victoria’s response should the public health situation in any location change.

Permits can be obtained at Service Victoria. For more information on Victoria’s travel permit system, visit Victorian travel permit system.

The Chief Health Officer will continue monitoring the situation and will provide further updates as needed.

Viral fragments detected in south-east wastewater catchment

Last week, fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 were detected in wastewater samples taken from a sewer catchment in Melbourne’s south east.

Anyone with even mild COVID-19 symptoms is urged to get tested, especially people who live in or have visited these areas from 4 to 6 April:

• Clayton, Clayton South, Dingley Village, Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Mulgrave, Notting Hill, Springvale, Springvale South and Wheelers Hill.

Fragments of the virus detected in wastewater may be due to a person with COVID-19 being in the early active infectious phase or it could be because someone is continuing to shed the virus after the infectious period.

See further information about the Wastewater testing program.

General advice

Coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms include fever, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath and loss or change in sense of smell or taste. If you are experiencing any symptoms, wear a fitted face mask when you get tested.

The Department is publishing expected wait times at testing sites as well as updated information about locations and hours of operation at Where to get tested.

There are no current active exposure sites in Victoria. A list of Victorian exposure sites is published at Case alerts - public exposure sites.

For more information call the 24-hour Coronavirus Hotline at 1800 675 398 or visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) Victoria.

Latest statewide numbers (data reported to 11:59pm yesterday):