Coronavirus update for Victoria - 02 July 2021

Victoria was notified of three new cases of COVID-19 yesterday.

All the new cases are in returned international travellers in hotel quarantine and include a man in his 30s, a
woman in her 30s and a child.

There were no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases recorded yesterday. This is the second day in a row of
no new local cases.

There were two COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria yesterday.

There were 32 active cases in Victoria – 8 are locally acquired and 24 are overseas acquired cases.

The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 20,713. One historic
case was re-classified yesterday.

Update: Travel permits

The Chief Health Officer has declared that from 11.59pm AEST 2 July, Alice Springs and Greater Darwin - incorporating the City of Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield – are orange zones under Victoria's travel permit system. Existing red zone arrivals to Victoria from Alice Springs and Greater Darwin must continue to isolate, get tested and stay isolated until they receive a negative result and are given clearance by the Department of Health.

Red zones apply to Greater Sydney and Wollongong in NSW, the Perth metropolitan and Peel regions in Western Australia and 11 Local Government Areas in South East Queensland, including the 5 LGAs in Greater Brisbane, plus Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island.

The ACT and all of regional NSW are orange zones. As of 6am today, the NSW cross-border community Local Government Areas were declared orange zones.

Free movement for residents in the ‘border bubble’ remains in effect. Locals can cross the border without a permit but need to carry proof of their address, such as a driver’s licence.

If you are a cross-border community member who has been in an orange zone that is outside of the cross-border area, you can enter Victoria without a permit only if you’ve had a negative COVID-19 test result since you left the orange zone.

If you haven’t had a negative test result, you will need to enter Victoria with an orange zone permit, isolate and get tested within 72 hours, and stay isolated until you receive a negative result.

If you are a cross-border community member in Victoria who has been in a red zone outside of the cross-border area, you have to obtain a red zone permit to re-enter Victoria.

If you do not live in the cross-border community, the border bubble does not apply to you and orange zones on the border are the same as any other orange zone in Australia.

Victoria Police are actively patrolling the NSW / Victoria border and about 2100 people were stopped and checked yesterday.

Authorised officers continue to meet all arriving flights at our airports. They met about 900 incoming passengers yesterday, with the majority from Queensland.

In addition, our public health team visited 160 households yesterday, where recent interstate arrivals are isolating, to check on their welfare and ensure they were isolating correctly.

From today, 50 members of the Australian Defence Force will join the public health team to assist in these household checks.

You must have a valid permit, exception or exemption to enter Victoria, even if entering from a green zone. Permits can be obtained at Service Victoria. See more about Victoria's travel permit system.

Update: Outbreaks

Victoria’s COVID-19 outbreaks remain stable.

Victorian health authorities continue to manage primary close contacts linked to the Sandringham workplace outbreak.

There have been no new cases linked to this outbreak since 24 June. The two active cases of COVID-19 remain in quarantine and all primary close contacts from the Oakleigh housing complex have tested negative.

There are still active exposure sites in Victoria. A full list of exposure sites is published at Case alerts - public exposure sites.

The Department also manages exposure sites that it doesn’t publish online, particularly if these sites represent lower-risk exposures, if they have comprehensive record-keeping and contact tracing measures, or if they identify small, private locations.

Exposure sites are regularly reviewed based on intelligence and evidence, following case interviews.

Update: Vaccinations

Yesterday, 19,470 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services.

More than 77,000 vaccine doses have been administered through state centres this week. Of those, more than 49,000 vaccinations have been second doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

This brings the total number of doses administered at these services to 1,121,235.

Victoria’s online booking system is now live atBook your vaccine appointment or you can ring the coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398.

Information about Victoria’s vaccination centres can be found at Vaccination centres.

Aggressive behaviour at vaccination centres

There have been reports of aggressive behaviour towards vaccination centre and call centre staff by members of the public.

Our vaccinations teams have undertaken a huge workload in recent weeks dealing with a large surge in demand for vaccinations.

While we understand people might get frustrated when they find out they are not eligible for their preferred vaccine or there are limited or no bookings available, we ask for your patience and for our staff to be treated with courtesy and respect.

Extra security has been brought in at the Melbourne Entertainment and Convention Centre and condition-of-entry banners have been introduced to remind people they will be asked to leave immediately if there is any aggression towards staff.

Update: QR codes

The amnesty for QR Code compliance for workplaces has ended and all employees in Victorian businesses must check in daily using the Service Victoria app.

Retail businesses are responsible for ensuring customers, workers, and visitors always check in and that electronic records are up to date.

Failure to comply with record-keeping requirements can result in fines of $1,652. Repeated, blatant or wilful non-compliance can result in further fines of $9,913 and up to $100,000 or prosecution in court.

In addition to fines, a business may be issued with an improvement notice or a prohibition order until issues are resolved.

Current restrictions

The state of emergency declared on 16 March 2020 has been extended throughout the State of Victoria arising out of the serious risk to public health posed by coronavirus.

The declaration to extend the state of emergency takes effect from 11:59pm on 1 July and operates until 11:59pm on 29 July 2021. The Chief Health Officer has exercised emergency powers to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

Information about current restrictions in place can be found on theStatement From The Acting Premier.

General advice

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 symptoms, wear a fitted face mask when you get tested.

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

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

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