BALLARAT COVID UPDATE | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
NEW CASES: four (up from two yesterday)
ACTIVE CASES: 60 (up from 56 yesterday)
UPDATE, 12.45PM: Ballarat has recorded four new COVID cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday.
Of the new cases, three are in the 3350 postcode and one is in 3355.
There are now 60 active cases in Ballarat, a slight increase from yesterday.
Moorabool recorded five cases, Pyrenees and Golden Plains recorded two each and Hepburn did not record any.
Ballarat's figures compare remarkably well in relation to other major regional centres.
Latrobe (41 new cases/210 active), Bendigo (28 new/132 active), Shepparton (24 new/238 active), Geelong (21 new/229 active) and Mildura (7 new/226 active) are all seeing greater rates of transmission.
There 214 new cases in regional Victoria overall.
EARLIER, 9.30AM: Victoria has recorded 2232 new COVID cases on the state's final day of lockdown.
It is the second-highest daily figure in Victoria, just shy of the 2293 cases recorded on October 13.
With the easing of restrictions less as of 11.59pm on Thursday, there are still 22,889 active cases in the state.
There was also 12 deaths recorded yesterday.
The new deaths take the toll from the current outbreak to 187.
There were 79,544 tests returned.
Further information about the deaths and new cases will be released later on Wednesday.
In Ballarat, there were two new COVID cases confirmed on Tuesday, as the city showed further promising signs of preventing significant spread of the virus.
The number of active cases also continued to drop.
As of yesterday there were 56 active cases in Ballarat, down from a peak of 74 just four days ago.
There has not be a new Ballarat exposure site added this week.
However, there is fury among Ballarat hospitality businesses after sudden rule changes from the government dictated only fully vaccinated were allowed to work from Friday.
Previously, the government had told hospitality workers they had until November 26 to have two doses.
Meanwhile, Victoria has passed its 70 per cent full COVID-19 vaccination target on the last day of Melbourne's long-running sixth lockdown.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed 70.51 per cent of Victorians aged over 16 have now received both doses, a key reopening milestone in the state's roadmap.
The state government had already pledged Melbourne would emerge from lockdown at 11.59pm on Thursday, five days earlier than planned.
"The longest road has been journeyed in Victoria and that long road really starts to open up tonight," Mr Morrison told Seven Network on Thursday.
"But as always, all states and territories, are coming from a different starting point. They'll all cautiously find their way back. This is not a big opening in that first step."
When stay-at-home orders are wound back, Melburnians will have endured 77 full days in their current lockdown and 263 total days since the beginning of the pandemic - a record for any city across the globe.
Under the new rules, people will be able to leave their homes for any reason and travel anywhere within metropolitan Melbourne.
The curfew will be scrapped, home gatherings of up to 10 will be allowed, and hairdressers and hospitality businesses will reopen for the fully vaccinated.
However, in a last-minute change to reopening plans, all hospitality staff must be fully vaccinated to work.
This is despite online health directions stating authorised workers, including those in hospitality, must have had one vaccine dose by October 22 and a second by November 26.
Australian Hotels Association Victoria chief executive Paddy O'Sullivan said the government had "moved the goalposts" on the sector and has asked for a grace period to allow staff time to get vaccinated.
But Victoria's COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said "there is no wriggle room" on the mandate.
With some pubs in the city to reopen at midnight, staff at hospitality venues will be allowed to go into work after the curfew kicks in at 9pm to get their venues ready, but patrons will need to wait until 11:59pm to leave home.
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we aim to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.