Coronavirus update for Victoria – 1 October 2021

Victoria was notified of 1,143 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All were locally acquired.

There are 10,944 active cases in Victoria – all locally acquired.

There are 395 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. 87 of those cases are in intensive care, with 59 cases on a ventilator.

Sadly, the Department was notified of three deaths yesterday – a woman aged in her 70s from Darebin, a man aged in his 70s from Moreland, and a man aged in his 80s from Hume.

This brings the total number of deaths from the current outbreak to 44, and the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 864.

The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 38,464.

Almost 81 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and over have now had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than half have had two doses.

Update: City of Greater Shepparton and Shire of Moorabool to enter lockdown

Victoria’s Acting Chief Health Officer has declared the City of Greater Shepparton and the Shire of Moorabool will enter a seven-day lockdown commencing at 11:59 pm tonight, Friday 1 October, with restrictions the same as those in the City of Latrobe, Mitchell Shire and metropolitan Melbourne (excluding the curfew).

Under lockdown restrictions, you can only leave home for limited reasons: necessary goods and services, caregiving or compassionate reasons (including medical care and getting a COVID-19 test), authorised work or permitted education, exercise and outdoor social interaction in limited groups, and getting a COVID-19 vaccine locally.

Locals are asked to be on high alert for symptoms and get tested if any develop. We also remind anyone who has been contacted by the Department as a close contact to come forward for testing immediately.

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

Update: Restrictions on the construction sector

Restrictions on the Victorian construction industry will ease at 11:59 pm on Monday 4 October, with five workers plus a supervisor allowed at small-scale construction sites, and up to 25 per cent of workers allowed at large-scale construction sites.

To be allowed on site, all workers will need to carry an Authorised Worker Permit and have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

All sites will need to have an up-to-date vaccination register available for compliance checks at all times.

Every construction site in Victoria must also have a designated and fully trained COVID Marshal on site to ensure compliance with the Chief Health Officer’s directions.

For more information on Victoria’s construction sector restrictions, visit COVIDSafe reopening for Victorian construction.

Update: Supermarket and distribution centre contact management

A revised contact management protocol will commence in the supermarket industry on Saturday 2 October, following consultation between the Victorian Government and industry representatives.

The new framework balances the risk of transmission against the risk of interrupting food supply. The industry will pilot the protocol with a view to implementing the revised policy settings in other critical industries in coming weeks.

Vaccines

The Victorian Government has announced mandatory vaccination requirements for all authorised providers and authorised workers who are not working from home.

On the advice of our public health team, all workers – in Melbourne and regional Victoria – on the Authorised Worker list who cannot work at home must have had their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by 15 October 2021.

All authorised workers will need to be fully vaccinated by 26 November, unless they have been issued an exemption by an authorised medical professional.

The October deadline does not apply to workers and workforces with existing vaccination requirements under CHO directions. This includes construction workers, commercial freight workers, healthcare workers, aged-care workers and education staff.

To help ensure these workers can receive their vaccine in time, Victoria is expanding its GP and pharmacy grant program to priority LGAs in regional Victoria. We’re also doubling the number of grants available for existing LGAs – providing more of our primary care network with $4,000 and $10,000 grants to boost their hours and staffing capacity, so more Victorians can get vaccinated.

Ten vaccination centres across Melbourne will begin administering the Moderna vaccine next week, with 100,000 doses available to anyone aged 12 to 59 years. From Monday 4 October until Sunday 10 October, the vaccine will be available at the following hubs:

• Melton Vaccination Hub (Bunnings)
• Sunshine Vaccination Hub
• Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
• Royal Exhibition Building
• Sandown Racecourse Vaccination Centre
• Frankston Community Vaccination Hub (Bayside Centre)
• Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre
• Dandenong Palm Plaza
• Former Ford Factory, Campbellfield
• La Trobe University, Bundoora.

While additional capacity will become available at these sites over coming days, Pfizer and AstraZeneca will remain available.

We encourage anyone aged 12 to 59 years who is yet to get their first dose of Pfizer to consider bringing their appointment forward and rebooking for Moderna, which is another very safe and highly effective vaccine.

Following advice from Victoria’s public health team and greater certainty from the Commonwealth on projected vaccine supply, the dosage interval for the Pfizer vaccine will be reduced from six weeks to three weeks on 4 October 2021.

Anyone who has received their first dose of Pfizer will be able to bring forward their second dose – if they choose to – from 4 October.

The recommended interval between Pfizer doses is from three to six weeks. This is in line with ATAGI advice.

Yesterday, 34,935 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services.

The total number of doses administered through state-run services is 3,567,645.

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 provider and make a booking, visit Australian Government Department of Health website.

Outbreaks

Of the 1,143 cases reported yesterday, the following Local Government Areas in metropolitan Melbourne recorded more than one newly diagnosed case:

• 9 cases in Banyule
• 14 cases in Bayside
• 3 cases in Boroondara
• 70 cases in Brimbank
• 11 cases in Cardinia
• 41 cases in Casey
• 21 cases in Darebin
• 10 cases in Frankston
• 12 cases in Glen Eira
• 25 cases in Greater Dandenong
• 23 cases in Hobsons Bay
• 243 cases in Hume
• 6 cases in Kingston
• 11 cases in Knox
• 8 cases in Manningham
• 11 cases in Maribyrnong
• 6 cases in Maroondah
• 19 cases in Melbourne
• 55 cases in Melton
• 9 cases in Monash
• 37 cases in Moonee Valley
• 49 cases in Moreland
• 4 cases in Mornington Peninsula
• 5 cases in Nillumbik
• 14 cases in Port Phillip
• 19 cases in Stonnington
• 6 cases in Whitehorse
• 83 cases in Whittlesea
• 54 cases in Wyndham
• 24 cases in Yarra
• 9 cases in Yarra Ranges.

There were also 62 cases notified in regional Victoria yesterday:

• 1 case in Ararat
• 1 case in Ballarat
• 3 cases in Baw Baw
• 1 case in Campaspe
• 2 cases in Colac Otway
• 1 case in Gannawarra
• 7 cases in Greater Geelong
• 12 cases in Greater Shepparton
• 6 cases in Latrobe
• 3 cases in Macedon Ranges
• 12 cases in Mitchell
• 4 cases in Moorabool
• 1 case in South Gippsland
• 1 case in Surf Coast
• 7 cases in Warrnambool.

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

Of the COVID-19 cases in hospital yesterday, 74 per cent were unvaccinated, 21 per cent were partially vaccinated and five per cent were fully vaccinated.

There are currently more than 30,550 active primary close contacts in isolation in Victoria.

The Department has changed the way it communicates with primary close contacts required to quarantine.

• People who have been tested for COVID-19 on or after Day 13 of their quarantine period and who receive a negative result can stop quarantining immediately. They will not be contacted by the Department of Health and can use their negative test result as proof that they have completed their quarantine period.
• People who have not been tested for COVID-19 on or after Day 13 should get tested as soon as possible and stay in quarantine until they have received a negative result. If they do not get tested, their quarantine period might be extended.
• People who have had new exposure to COVID-19 during their quarantine period, including being in the same household as someone with COVID-19, should stay in quarantine and await further advice.

At midday today, there were more than 590 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.

Wastewater testing

COVID-19 viral fragments have been detected in wastewater samples taken from the following regional areas:

• Aireys Inlet – repeated unexpected wastewater detections in area that includes Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven. The periods of interest are 15–21 September and 26–29 September.
• Mildura – unexpected wastewater detection in an area that includes Mildura. The period of interest is
  26–28 September.
• Seymour – repeated unexpected detections in an area that includes Seymour. The period of interest is 19–28 September.
• Ballarat – repeated unexpected detections in areas that include:
  • Lake Gardens, Mitchell Park and Wendouree between 26 and 30 September
  • Alfredton, Cardigan, Lucas and Delacombe between 26 and 30 September
  • Ballarat East, Buninyong, Canadian, Eureka, Golden Point, Mount Clear and Mount Helen between 22 and 30 September.

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.

Update: Testing for students sitting the GAT

The Department of Health strongly recommends that students living in areas with high COVID-19 case numbers get tested for coronavirus before sitting the GAT on Tuesday, 5 October 2021.

Postcodes of priority are 3021, 3023, 3029, 3030, 3037, 3046, 3047, 3048, 3059, 3060, 3061, 3064, 3073, 3074, 3075, 3076, 3082, 3338, 3750, 3752, 3754 and 3977.

Students living in these areas have been given instructions on accessing priority COVID-19 testing this weekend, with dedicated lanes available at the Melbourne Showgrounds and Coolaroo testing sites.

Testing

62,883 COVID-19 tests were processed yesterday.

Getting tested as soon as you have symptoms will help health authorities identify new positive cases and provide proper care for your family.

If you are concerned about losing money from missing work, 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.

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

More information

To access the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Victoria, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) Victoria or call the 24-hour Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can also call the Victorian Aboriginal COVID Information Line on 1800 312 911. Callers will speak with Aboriginal staff who can answer questions about COVID-19 and direct them to relevant support services. The information line is open from 9 am to 5 pm, 7 days a week.