A person in their 30s among Covid deaths as new Omicron subvariant detected in Victoria

A person in their 30s is among the eight Covid deaths reported Saturday as a new subvariant of the Omicron virus is detected in Victorian wastewater samples.

A new strain of the Omicron variant has been detected in Victoria. Picture: Dan Peled

A person in their 30s is among the eight Covid related deaths recorded on Saturday.

The other deaths the Department of Health was notified of were people 70s, 80s and 90s.

Of these deaths, five occurred in the past week, one occurred in early April and two deaths occurred in February and March.

This brings the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 2,838.

Heading into the Easter long weekend there are 57,870 active cases in Victoria.

Vaccinators return to public hospitals

Victoria’s army of Covid-19 vaccinators will start returning to the public hospital system in a much-needed boost to the besieged healthcare network.

The state’s network of vaccination centres will begin to scale down in the coming weeks, with only about 30 state-run vaccination centres to be operating by the end of May.

The remaining state-run vaccination hubs will be located in priority local government areas with lagging jab rates and in vulnerable communities.

The move is expected to free up a workforce of highly skilled professionals to instead deliver other services across the struggling health system.

Vaccinations will continue through GP clinics and pharmacies, which are now delivering up to 75 per cent of doses in the program.

Health Minister Martin Foley blamed the federal government in part for the closure of state-run hubs.

“While a lack of Commonwealth funding clarity has guided this decision, this is an appropriate step that reflects things getting back to normal, with more responsibility for immunisation programs returning to primary care,” Mr Foley said.

“Victorians will always have the ability to get protected against Covid-19 at the places most people usually go to for medicines and health services – their local GP or pharmacy.”

The Victorian government run rollout delivered more than 6.1 million doses.

The vaccination centre at the Alfred Hospital closed this week, having delivered more than 70,000 doses since it opened, while the high-volume centre at Cranbourne Turf Club will finish vaccinating Victorians in May.

“This has been one of the biggest and most successful public health programs in our history,” Mr Foley added.

“Everyone who worked in a vaccination centre played a part in helping us become one of the most vaccinated societies on earth.”

Despite Victoria being one of the most vaccinated places in the world, the state government is yet to scrap jab mandates or its vaccinated economy.

More than 96 per cent of adults have had two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, and two-thirds have had three doses – including around 90 per cent of those aged over 70.

Worry over new variant

The latest statistics from the Department of Health come as a new subvariant of the Omicron virus has been detected in Victoria.

State health authorities revealed on Friday they had detected the subvariant, believed to be either BA. 4 or BA. 5, in wastewater samples taken from the Tullamarine catchment.

In his daily statement, chief health officer Brett Sutton said the Department of Health was closely monitoring the new detections.

The subvariant has previously been detected in a small number of cases in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany.

There are currently no known significant epidemiological differences observed between the new strain and the current BA. 2 strain.

Prof Sutton said the new variant didn’t come as a surprise to experts.

“Not surprised. But not worried,” he wrote on Twitter on Friday evening.

“The point with all the newly emergent lineages is that when they out-compete existing variants, we get upward pressure on cases and more risk of getting infected.”

Prof Sutton urged Victorians to ensure they were “up-to-date with vaccines”, wear quality masks indoors and test when required.

The World Health Organisation has recently stated there has so far been no change seen in the severity or transmissibility of virus.

In its weekly epidemiological update, published on April 12, the WHO said both BA. 4 and BA. 5 appear to have additional mutations in the spike region and unique mutations outside of spike.

“WHO is working with scientists to further assess the characteristics of these lineages and their public health implications,” it read.

“WHO recommends countries to continue surveillance, where possible, and rapid data sharing on publicly available databases.”

University of South Australia chair of biostatistics Adrian Esterman said there was no current cause for concern.

Professor Esterman, who is a former World Health Organisation epidemiologist, said experts were still examining the strains.

“These appear to be different combinations of BA. 1, BA. 2 and BA. 3,” he said.

“(They are) potentially more transmissible, but unlikely to be any more pathogenic.”