Unvaccinated Geelong patient dies with Covid, as region records 35 new cases

A person in their 80s from the Geelong region has sadly died with Covid, as restrictions are set to ease at 6pm tonight.

An unvaccinated Covid patient from the Geelong region, aged in their 80s, has died.

Barwon Health confirmed it was the first death of a local Covid patient at Geelong hospital this year.

Barwon South West public health unit director Prof Eugene Athan confirmed that sadly, there has been one death due to Covid-19 at University Hospital Geelong overnight Thursday.

Greater Geelong recorded 35 new Covid cases overnight as restrictions are due to ease at 6pm on Friday.

Victoria reported 1656 new cases, and 10 deaths in people with Covid, on Friday.

The state was expected to hit its 80 per cent double dose target for people 16 and up on Saturday.

Restrictions will ease from Friday evening, with regional Victoria and Melbourne to be reunited just in time for the Melbourne Cup long weekend.

It comes as Chief health officer Brett Sutton says Victoria is on track to be one of the world’s most vaccinated regions.

Professor Sutton said the state had reached 65.5 per cent of the entire population fully vaccinated, which includes those aged under 16.

“That’s a higher vaccination rate than the US, Austria, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Israel,” he said on Friday.

“And for first doses, we’re doing incredibly well. We’ve now gotten to 78.3 per cent of the total population and that’s overtaking the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Japan just to name a few.

“We are on track to be in the top five, top 10 jurisdictions in the world for total population vaccine coverage.

“That’s a fantastic trajectory we’re on but we’re not there yet, we are well on the way and it will, again, get us to a point where we can enjoy even greater freedoms and fewer restrictions.”

Originally published as Unvaccinated Geelong patient dies with Covid, as region records 35 new cases