Victoria's COVID-19 case surge continues with 1638 new cases

There are now 15,074 active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria.

There were 115 new cases in regional Victoria, bringing active cases outside of Melbourne to 707 active cases.

The majority of these cases are linked, Acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie said on Thursday.

Those include 16 new cases in Geelong and eight in Ballarat.

It's understood another COVID patient at Geelong hospital passed away overnight, the second this week.

There are now 10 abattoirs or meatworks with transmission on site, leading to more than 30 confirmed active cases associated with these sites.

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Sadly two people lost their lives overnight.

There are 564 people in hospital with COVID-19, 115 of which are in intensive care and 74 on ventilators.

Of those, 66 per vent are unvaccinated, 27 per cent were partially vaccinated and seven per cent are fully vaccinated.

In the seven days from Tuesday Victoria has seen 10,000 new COVID-19 infections, of which 79 per cent were unvaccinated.

Proving the effectiveness of the vaccine, Professor Cowie said just seven per cent of infections were in those who are double dosed and 15 per cent in those partially vaccinated.

"We have the really hard underlying facts that show how much more likely you are to get COVID and pass it on to your friends and family, and perhaps most importantly to end up in intensive care or tragically lead to further loss of life if you choose not to get vaccinated," Professor Cowie said.

Today Victorian Disability Minister Luke Donnellan announced a $5 million boost to vaccination rares amongst people living with a disability.

The state government is launching 10 disability pop-up clinics in areas of concern.

As of September 30 more than 71 per cent of Victorian NDIS participants aged over 16 had received a first vaccine dose, compared to the national average of 67 per cent.

Earlier, 9am: VICTORIA has recorded an extra 1638 cases in the 24 hours to midnight as well as two deaths.

A total of 15,074 people across the state currently have COVID-19.

It has also administered 36,672 vaccine doses and processed 77,238 tests, the Department of Health says.

More than 80 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have now had one vaccine dose and rates are climbing fast for those who are 12 to 15 years old, new federal government figures show.

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COVID-19 taskforce commander Lieutenant-General John Frewen warned there is still a "big challenge" getting unvaccinated people to come forward.

"Increasingly we will start to move into groups of people who have been either hesitant or, for whatever reason, complacent. They're the ones that we really need to work on from here on in," he said.

- With The Canberra Times

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