BALLARAT COVID UPDATE | Thursday, January 13
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
NEW CASES: 279 (up from 167 yesterday)
ACTIVE CASES: 1071 (up from 1014 yesterday)
Ballarat has recorded another COVID case high, with 279 new infections recorded in the 24 hours to midnight, Wednesday.
There are now 1071 active cases in the city, however the number has only increased by 57 on yesterday's figures.
The 3350 postcode has the highest number of active cases in the city, with 656 listed as of Thursday.
There are 140 active cases in the 3352 postcode, 152 in the 3356 postcode, 101 in the 3355 postcode, 41 in the 3351 postcode and 22 in the 3357 postcode.
In neighboring municipalities:
- Moorabool Shire - 93 new cases, 479 active cases
- Golden Plains Shire - 51 new cases, 133 active cases
- Hepburn Shire - 33 new cases, 101 active cases
- Pyrenees Shire - 9 new cases, 39 active cases
VICTORIAN COVID UPDATE | Thursday, January 13
NEW CASES: 37,169 (down from 40,127 yesterday)
DEATHS: 25 (up from 21 yesterday)
ACTIVE CASES: 221,726 (up from 209,715 yesterday)
IN HOSPITAL: 953 (up from 946 yesterday)
IN ICU: 111 (down from 112 yesterday)
ON VENTILATOR: 29 (down from 31 yesterday)
Victoria has recorded 37,169 new COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths, as new pandemic orders come into effect across the state.
The new infections include 16,843 from rapid antigen tests and 20,326 from PCR tests, the Health Department said on Thursday.
There are 953 patients in hospital, including 111 in intensive care of which 29 require ventilators.
The state is managing 221,726 active cases.
The number of Victorians over 18 who have received a booster vaccine has risen by two per cent, to 20 per cent.
New rules requiring hospitality and entertainment venues to close indoor dancefloors came into effect on Thursday.
Dancefloors at weddings will be permitted as guests can be easily tracked down.
Mandatory booster arrangements have also kicked in, requiring key workers currently eligible for a third dose to get it before February 12.
The rules apply to disability, health and aged care workers, as well as those working in emergency services, corrections, quarantine and food distribution.
Isolation rules have changed for supermarket retail workers and those who work in the manufacturing, distribution or packaging of food.
These workers are now exempt from isolating if they become a COVID-19 close contact, however they must be asymptomatic, undertake daily rapid antigen tests for five days and return a negative test before working.
In Ballarat, there are now more than 1000 active cases in the city for the first time throughout the entire pandemic, according to yesterday's figures.
Today's local figures will be updated later today.
There has been an average of 202 cases per day over the last seven days.
However, the actual number of cases is certain to be much higher as rapid antigen tests do not count in the location data.
Meanwhile, Victoria will recruit 1000 people to administer COVID-19 vaccines to bolster its booster rollout, as the health system continues to be plagued by virus-related staff absences.
The state government is encouraging first-year health students and retired nurses to apply for one of the new positions, with applications opening next week.
Acting Health Minister James Merlino said the recruitment drive was needed as the number of people eligible for their third dose is set to "dramatically" increase in coming weeks.
COVID-19 Response Deputy Secretary Naomi Bromley said training was "absolutely key", with vaccinators required to complete commonwealth and Victorian vaccination training.
They must also complete a COVID-19 clinical skills and competencies assessment, and undertake a number of supervised vaccinations before carrying one out themselves.
The new vaccinators will not be responsible for establishing patient consent and will only be authorised to vaccinate people over 18.
Eighteen per cent of Victorians aged over 18 have received their booster.
The state opposition says the booster rollout was running slower than planned, with fewer than half of the promised doses handed out in week one of a vaccination blitz.
Further, IT issues at the Royal Exhibition Centre hub forced healthcare staff to fill out registration and vaccine forms by hand, leading to lengthy queues.
The opposition is calling for a 24-hour hub to allow more people to get vaccinated out of hours, and for pop-up clinics in local suburbs and summer holiday hotspots.
Meanwhile, Mr Merlino said 6600 health workers are now unable to work due to being either COVID-positive or close contacts of positive cases, up from an estimate of 4000 on Monday.
He said the government was considering a number of measures for the health system, including activating "code brown" to signal an emergency.
"We have a health system under considerable strain," he said.
"Code brown is available at any time, at any hospital, but we are looking at what other measures we need to put in place across our health system."
Triple-zero operators are dealing with unprecedented numbers of calls, as AAP understands COVID is impacting its operational workforce.
Ambulance triple-zero calls are averaging more than 3000 a day, compared to 2400 a day in August.
The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, which operates triple zero, said more than one-in-five callers did not need an emergency ambulance response.
The cumulative impact of people delaying medical help since the start of the pandemic, a rise in mental health-related emergencies, COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations were also blamed for the increased demand.
Ambulance Victoria issued its second code red alert in a week on Tuesday, due to "extreme demand".
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.