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New COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Ballarat and surrounding local government areas in the last 24 hours, Department of Health data has revealed.
Four new COVID-19 infections have been recorded in Ballarat in the past 24 hours.
It brings the total number of active cases in the city to 49.
Meanwhile, one new case was recorded in Hepburn Shire, bringing the total number of active cases there to 14.
Nearby Moorabool Shire had four new cases recorded, bring the total number of active cases to 60.
The total number of active cases in Golden Plains Shire has now reached 20 after four new cases were recorded, while five new cases were recorded in Pyrenees.
This means there are now six active cases in Pyrenees Shire.
Earlier:
Victoria has recorded a drop in cases, with 980 new COVID-19 infections recorded in the past 24-hours.
The Department of Health released the figures this morning, which also reveal testing remained high with 65,449 tests undertaken.
It brings the total number of active cases in the state to 15,433.
Sadly, seven people with the virus died overnight.
There are 299 people being treated for the virus in hospitals, with 40 in intensive care units and 16 on ventilators.
The number of new cases have not yet been released for Ballarat.
It comes as the state's vaccination rate is expected to increase from 91 per cent of people aged 12+ being fully vaccinated.
The Morrison government expects the rollout for the cohort to start on January 10, subject to final approval from the nation's expert vaccine panel, known as ATAGI, and the results of batch testing.
The expert panel's advice is expected within weeks, with the first shipment of doses expected to arrive on Australia's shores by early next year.
The government says it has a deal with Pfizer to deliver enough supplies to immunise the approximately 2.3 million school-aged children in Australia.
The news comes after up to 10,000 people protested in central Melbourne on Saturday, in the first mass demonstration since the Victorian government passed pandemic laws.
The crowds are expected to descend on Ballarat on Sunday.
The crowd marched through Treasury Gardens shouting "Sack Dan Andrews" and "Freedom" and carried Eureka and national flags as well as Donald Trump placards.
They sang The Seekers' I Am Australian before hearing speeches from ex-Liberal MP turned United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly and others.
The gathering moved on to Flinders Street Station before some headed for the ABC's Southbank studios and asked to speak with the public broadcaster's chair Ita Buttrose, who lives in Sydney.
They then set up outside Government House, the official residence of the state's governor who will sign off on the pandemic bill.
In nearby Carlton, a counter-rally against far-right elements of the so-called "freedom protests" was also held.
There have been almost weekly demonstrations in Melbourne against vaccination mandates and pandemic laws, with concerns some protesters have neo-Nazi or far-right conspiracy group links.
The government's controversial new legislation, which passed parliament on Thursday, makes the premier and health minister responsible for declaring pandemics and making health orders.
It will replace the existing state of emergency on December 16 and makes Victoria the first state in Australia with pandemic-specific laws.
Health Minister Martin Foley suggested demonstrators are complaining about aspects of laws that have already been altered.
"Protests should be peaceful and they should be based on up-to-date information and facts," he told reporters on Saturday.
"What we now have is a set of legislative arrangements that allow a balance between the public health response that keeps us safe and open."
There are currently 39 COVID-19 cases linked to mass protests in Melbourne last month, with three people hospitalised and one in intensive care.
- WITH AAP
