NEW CASES: 106 (down from 154 yesterday)

ACTIVE CASES: 792 (down from 875 yesterday)

Ballarat has recorded 106 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to midnight Tuesday, a significant drop on the number reported the day before.

There number of active cases in the city continues to fall, with 792 active infections in the latest reporting period.

That number is the lowest since January 8 this year, when there were 796 active infections in the community.

In neighbouring shires:

VICTORIAN COVID UPDATE | Wednesday, January 26

NEW CASES: 13,507 (down from 14,836 yesterday)

DEATHS: 35 (up from 29 yesterday)

ACTIVE CASES: 139,562 (down from 183,154 yesterday)

IN HOSPITAL: 1,089 (up from 1,057 yesterday)

IN ICU: 113 (down from 119 yesterday)

ON VENTILATOR: 40 (down from 45 yesterday)

Victoria has recorded 35 deaths and 13,507 new COVID-19 cases.

The new infections, confirmed by the health department on Wednesday, include 6533 from PCR tests and 6974 from rapid antigen tests.

It brings the total number of active cases in the state to 139,562.

Hospital patients with COVID-19 in Victoria stands at 1089.

There are 113 people in Victoria in intensive care, with 40 of those on a ventilator.

Wednesday's death toll is the highest the state has seen since Victoria's second wave when 59 fatalities were recorded on September 4, 2020.

It also comes a day after 29 deaths were reported.

In Ballarat, the number of active cases continued to fall yesterday for the third consecutive day.

The updated figures will be released later today.

According to the health department, there are now 875 active cases in the city, with 154 new cases confirmed on Tuesday.

However, the number is certain to be higher as rapid tests do not count towards location data.

Ballarat Health Services has not released data surrounding the number of people in hospital since last week.

Meanwhile, two COVID-19 positive disability support workers at a residential facility in regional Victoria have been granted an exemption by the state's health department to continue working.

The Health and Community Services Union have confirmed that two workers, who tested positive on Wednesday, are being required to work at Possability in Stawell over long hours, including overnight.

They are the only two staff supporting six residents, who have all tested positive to COVID-19 themselves after being exposed to a case during a one-day program last week.

At least 10 other homes in the area have been put into lockdown due to the day program exposure.

HACSU union official Roisin McGee said the two workers have been told to go to work and then home to isolate after their shifts, with one staff member working 7am to 6.30pm and the other 3.30pm to 9.30am.

She claimed the employer contacted the Grampians Public Health Unit to obtain an exemption so the staff could continue working, provided they isolate when not working.

She alleged the exemption was granted on Sunday, after being approved by COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar.

Under Victoria's current rules, only workers who become close contacts of COVID-19 cases can apply for an exemption, and they must return negative rapid antigen tests to continue working.

Anyone who tests positive must isolate for seven days from the date of their test and they cannot leave their home except to get tested, get medical supplies or in an emergency.

Ms McGee said the COVID-positive workers, employed by a major disability support provider with ample access to testing, were not aware themselves of the exemption rules and that they should not be working.

"If that level of confusion is happening in the major providers, we don't know what's happening in the smaller ones that are sort of flying under the radar," she said.

She said, while aged care and health had workforce strategies to address these issues, the disability sector did not.

A recent survey by the union revealed 90 per cent of members in the disability area said they were short staffed, and half of them were short staffed "every single day".

"This is indicative of a larger issue across the sector. We're two years into a pandemic and the disability sector still isn't prepared in many ways," Ms McGee said.

"We've been calling for a roundtable with workers, us, the Victorian government and all the major providers, because right now there's no workforce strategy."

In a statement provided to AAP, Possability said it took seriously the safety and wellbeing of the people it supported and employees.

"We're working with public health in the management and provision of our essential services where we have COVID-19 outbreaks," the statement said.

"For privacy reasons we are unable to comment on the situation for individual clients or staff, however our focus continues to be on the people we support and our employees and providing safe support services."

AAP has contacted the Grampian Public Health Unit, Victoria's health department, state disability minister Anthony Carbines and federal NDIS minister Linda Reynolds for responses.

The situation comes as the federal government announced people receiving NDIS funding can use the money to pay for rapid antigen tests for themselves and support workers.

However, online disability platform Hireup says that is not enough.

Hireup said the announcement did not give anyone priority access to the tests and people with a disability will have to cut other areas of their support to pay for tests for their workers.

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