COVID-19 in Ballarat: call for caution approach to New Year's events

Or you "might be going home with a friend you didn't invite" and Ballarat could be facing sobering COVID-19 numbers.

Ballarat chalked up a daily record of 15 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the city's active infection tally to 92 people. This comes as Victoria also faced its highest daily rise with 3,767 new cases of the deadly virus.

Grampians Public Health Unit medical director Rosemary Aldrich said Ballarat COVID-19 case numbers were steadily rising as expected in Ballarat but we were "not out of the woods at all".

Professor Aldrich said Omicron's highly virulent nature mean infections could soar if people let their guards down, literally and figuratively, for New Year's celebrations.

She called for care and caution, for people to consider their actions as they prepared the celebrate, particularly in large events.

"There is a real reason why we need to be exercising caution," Professor Aldrich said. "Omicron is so infectious that it actually means in a group with other people and without masks, you're more likely to get it than not, especially if you have that prolonged contact.

"Essentially, if you're going to a small venue that is crammed with people, people are shouting and drinking and not wearing masks, it might be there's one person there [with COVID-19] and it might be you go home with a friend you didn't invite."

Professor Aldrich said the 12 to 15 new COVID-19 cases Ballarat had been experiencing each day were not translating into large numbers of serious illness or people in hospital and this was primarily due to "tremendously high" vaccination levels in the region. But this did not change our exposure risk.

Most Ballarat COVID-19 cases the past month were linked to household contacts or known cases, often from events in Melbourne where the virus was more prevalent.

Professor Aldrich said Ballarat people need only look to what was unfolding elsewhere in the state or soaring numbers in New South Wales - with a record 11, 201 new cases on Wednesday - to see how the virus could take hold.

"We ask people that even though they're vaccinated to still remain careful and cautious, to use their personal protective equipment [such as masks] when they're out and about and to refrain, if possible from large gatherings indoors. Outdoors is best," Professor Aldrich said.

"...We really need people to still be taking personal responsibility for their own risk and to be particularly mindful of their risk to others who, even though they're vaccinated, still have a level of risk from other conditions or may not mount same immune response to COVID."

Professor Aldrich said a lack of care in COVID-19 prevention could not just harm individuals but also add pressure to the region's health system and potentially increase risk to essential service workers, such as police, aged care and health workers.

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She encouraged people to consider taking a lead from Sydneysiders who were increasingly choosing to stay safe at home and limit their movement in the community.

For those looking to celebrate the new year outside, Ballarat is forecast for a mild overnight low of 15C for New Year's Eve before a top of 35C on New Year's Day.

Taking a rapid antigen test, available from supermarkets and pharmacies, was also a way a person could gauge the likelihood of a COVID-19 infection before mixing with others. Professor Aldrich said this was a handy tool she had used before Christmas gatherings that could also help protect New Year's festivities.

Vaccination boosters would also continue to play a vital role in personal and community protection against the virus, according to Professor Aldrich, who renewed a call for anyone who was eligible to get the jab as soon as possible.

Ballarat Health Services' community vaccination clinic at The Mercure re-opens on Tuesday, the same day as the interval from full vaccination to booster is officially shortened to four months.

Booster intervals will again be cut to three months from full vaccination by the end of January.

Professor Aldrich said planning was well underway across the Grampians to meet the surge in booster demand.

This comes as children aged five to 11 will be eligible for smaller Pfizer doses in jabs to start from January 10.

Professor Aldrich said further details for the upscale in jabs was still to be confirmed.

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