BALLARAT COVID UPDATE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 25
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NEW CASES: 10
ACTIVE CASES: 72
UPDATE, 11.45AM: Ballarat has recorded 10 new COVID cases in the 24 hours until midnight on Sunday.
It is the third consecutive day of growth in new cases in Ballarat.
There are now 72 active cases in the city.
Of the 10 new cases, there are seven in the 3350 postcode and three in the 3356 postcode.
In the shires surrounding Ballarat, there were six new cases in Moorabool, two in Hepburn and none in either Golden Plains or Pyrenees.
IN OTHER NEWS
Health minister Martin Foley urged all unvaccinated Victorians to get the jab as the state begins to reopen.
Mr Foley said it had never been easier to get access to a vaccine.
There were 252 new cases in all of regional Victoria.
"As we close in on 80 per cent later this week. Currently, most important thing we can do is to step forward and support are from my healthcare workers, community control organisations like this and get vaccinated," he said.
"There continues to be the message and its message that we need lots of different ways to get community engagement through.
"Just to make sure that we avoid completely avoidable hospitalisations through COVID-19 by getting as many people with those double jabs in their arms."
There were seven deaths recorded overnight.
Mr Foley said they included:
- One woman in her 20s
- One man in his 40s
- One man in his 60s
- Two women and a man in their 80s
- One man in his 90s.
EARLIER, 9AM: Another 1461 new coronavirus cases have been recorded overnight in Victoria.
The new infections take the state's active case tally to 24,831.
Sadly, another seven people have died.
There are 802 people in hospital with coronavirus, while 152 are receiving intensive care and 92 are on ventilators.
Another 27,859 Victorians received a vaccine dose and over 56,900 people were tested.
In Ballarat, there were 69 active cases in the city as of Sunday.
There were seven new cases confirmed on Sunday, the highest daily figure since October 13.
Two primary schools, as well as Federation University, have become exposure site after confirmed cases attended the venues last week.
Black Hill Primary School and St James Parish School in Sebastopol have sent out emails saying they will be closed on Monday due to confirmed COVID cases in attendance last week.
Fed Uni also says it had a COVID-positive student attend TAFE's SMB Campus and that the bricklaying department has undergone a deep clean.
Meanwhile, Victorians have been given a glimpse of life when nine out of 10 people aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as city and regional residents prepare to reunite.
Premier Daniel Andrews has announced major changes to Victoria's roadmap when the state reaches its next two major vaccination milestones.
With Victoria set to hit its 80 per cent full vaccination target ahead of schedule sometime next weekend, restrictions will ease further and align across the state from 6pm on Friday.
The ban on travel between Melbourne and regional Victoria will be scrapped, reconnecting the state for the first time since the city's 77-day lockdown lifted.
Masks will no longer need to be worn outdoors, entertainment venues, gyms and retail stores can reopen indoors for fully vaccinated patrons, and capacity limits will increase for restaurants, pubs and cafes.
Students from every year level across the state also return to full-time, face- to-face learning on November 1 before Tuesday's Melbourne Cup public holiday.
Longer term, Mr Andrews laid out a plan for the state once 90 per cent of the 12-plus population are fully vaccinated, forecast on or around November 24.
"There will be a fundamental change, a massive change, in many respects, to the rules that we have all been living under," the premier told reporters.
All venue caps and density quotients will be scrapped at that point, along with mandatory indoor mask rules except in high-risk or low-vaccinated settings such as hospitals and schools.
Limits on home and outdoor gatherings will be shelved, paving the way for families to come together en masse at Christmas, while vaccine passport requirements expand to staff and patrons of non-essential retail stores.
Mr Andrews warned Victoria's "vaccinated economy" would remain into 2022, with those who refuse to get the jab excluded from workplaces, venues and major events.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the easing of restrictions was too slow and not in line with national cabinet's plan.
"What the government says applies at 90 per cent should apply at 80 per cent," he said.
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