Four new Covid infections, none of Victoria’s hospitalised cases fully vaccinated

None of the Victorians receiving hospital treatment for Covid in the latest outbreak were fully vaccinated, it has been revealed.

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Four new local Covid cases have been recorded in Victoria overnight.

All cases are linked to current outbreaks and were in quarantine while they were infectious.

Victoria currently has 161 active cases.

Of the four new locally acquired Covid cases announced on Sunday, acting Covid-19 commander, Naomi Bromley, said all were linked to current outbreaks and in quarantine while infectious.

Two are household contacts of Ms Frankie restaurant patrons, one is a known social contact linked to the Young and Jackson outbreak, and one case is a household contact of a Wallabies game attendee.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton said a snapshot of the state’s 204 Covid cases between July 12 and 28 revealed only 10 were fully vaccinated.

Prof Sutton said a further 25 of those recently infected had received a single dose of the Covid vaccine.

However, of the 204 Victorians who caught Covid, 29 were eligible for the vaccine but had not received their jabs.

Ten Victorians have received hospital treatment for Covid. Picture: David Caird

“Of those 10 positive cases who were fully vaccinated, none of them were hospitalised, all were either completely without symptoms or had mild symptoms,” Prof Sutton said.

But of the 10 cases who required hospital treatment, none were fully vaccinated.

Prof Sutton once again urged eligible Victorians to get their jab.

“We know it reduces your risk of getting Covid-19, or getting very sick from Covid-19,” he said.

“It is increasingly compelling evidence from around the world where hundreds of millions, indeed, billions of vaccines have been given.”

Eight Covid patients are now being treated in Victorian hospitals, with one of the three seriously ill intensive care patients requiring a ventilator.

Meanwhile, NSW has recorded 239 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has revealed.

Queensland recorded nine new locally acquired Covid-19 infections on Sunday.

It is the highest number of new cases the Sunshine State has reported all year, and its worst day since August 22 last year.

Residents in 11 southeast Queenland municipalities entered a snap three-day lockdown on Saturday afternoon.

NRL EYES MCG FOR GRAND FINAL

Victoria is set to rescue the AFL season and could hold the NRL Grand Final after Covid outbreaks in Queensland and New South Wales sent our biggest footy codes into disarray.

NSW and Queensland AFL teams are now set to stay in Victoria to escape their Covid-ravaged states and the NRL is actively considering moving their biggest game to the MCG.

Victoria will house 13 AFL clubs next week in the wake of Queensland’s Covid rapid lockdown with GWS, Sydney, Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns tipped to stay until the end of the season.

Read the full story here.

The MCG is in the frame to host this year’s NRL grand final. Picture: Michael Klein

TOP DOC SAYS ASTRAZENECA ADVICE WRONG

The head of Australia’s top medical research organisation wants AstraZeneca jabs given to everyone — now.

Professor Bruce Robinson, outgoing chairman of the National Health and Medical Research Council, has called for a rapid vaccine rollout, warning the Delta variant is unlikely to be brought under control.

He wants all restrictions on AstraZeneca scrapped, saying the chances of the country eliminating Delta are now “close to zero”.

Read the full story here.

RICHMOND APARTMENT BLOCK LOCKED DOWN

A Richmond apartment block was plunged into lockdown on Saturday night with about 20 residents told they would need to undergo 14 days of mandatory quarantine.

An announcement is expected to be made by the Health Department on Sunday that the site has been deemed a Tier 1 exposure site after a “case associated with the building was moved to hotel quarantine”.

A block of apartments in Richmond has been locked down due to a Covid exposure. Picture: David Crosling

Health authorities moved swiftly to prohibit access. Picture: David Crosling

On Saturday night, the building was cordoned off with yellow and black tape with a sign which said “Stop: no entry beyond this point, check with staff before entering”.

Another sign instructed all deliveries to be dropped off at the entrance.

Health officials dressed in high-vis gear were guarding the entrance, with around half a dozen spotted working at the premises.

The Stillman St block follows lockeddown apartment complexes in Hawthorn and Maribyrnong.

A Health Department spokesperson said “assessments were ongoing”.

RETURNING VICTORIANS FACE QUARANTINE

Victorians leaving parts of Queensland that have been thrown into snap lockdowns after 8pm on Saturday will have to quarantine for 14 days on their return home.

And non-Victorians in the new coronavirus hot spots will be barred from travelling here without exemption permits, in a desperate bid to stop cases slipping over the border.

In his daily update chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton said the following areas had been turned into “red zones” for the purposes of travel from 8pm Saturday evening:

City of Brisbane, Moreton Bay Regional Council, City of Gold Coast, City of Ipswich, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, Logan City, Noosa Shire Council, Redland City, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Somerset Regional Council and Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

“If you are a Victorian resident and have been in a red zone since current red zones came into effect, other than for transit, you can obtain a red zone permit to enter Victoria but you must travel directly home, get tested and quarantine for 14 days,” health advice says.

Health workers were at Melbourne Airport on Saturday greeting arrivals from Queensland. Picture: Rob Leeson

JAB HUBS SWAMPED AHEAD OF VAX CHANGES

Melburnians turned out in droves on Saturday at the Sandown Racecourse vaccination centre in the city’s southeast on the first weekend of freedom since lockdown 5.0 amid new health advice on the gap ­between vaccinations.

The Health Department said the gap between first and second Pfizer doses administered at state-run vaccination hubs would be extended to six weeks in a bid to arm even more Victorians with at least one dose.

Just under 42 per cent of eligible Victorians have received their first vaccinations, and authorities are pleading for those eligible to roll up their sleeves as soon as possible.

Victoria is third among states and territories — behind Tasmania and the ACT — when it comes to the percentage of people with one dose, but is middle of the pack when it comes to double doses.

Despite the slow rollout Victoria passed a major milestone on Friday when the number of people fully vaccinated passed one million.

Health Minister Martin Foley said concerns about supply had forced the state to shift its Pfizer rollout schedule as it aimed to create a greater ring of protection against coronavirus via those critical first doses that provide some protection against the virus.

The shift to six weeks from the current three-week gap begins on Monday and will not affect bookings already made, or those visiting GPs for vaccinations.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton said the change was still in line with federal health guidelines that recommended boosters for Pfizer be given ­between three and six weeks after the first dose.

Similar tactics were used in Britain and Canada to speed up the rate of initial vaccinations.

Crowds queue outside the vaccination centre at Sandown Racecourse before the gap between jabs is extended. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Geraghty

States are racing to get to 70 per cent vaccination coverage in order to try to avoid lockdowns as a way of containing coronavirus.

National cabinet agreed on Friday to a phased approach to living with Covid-19, and the first crucial step is defined as getting to 70 per cent.

Professor Sutton said this was not a “perfect” target and he could not say when it would be reached in Victoria due to supply problems.

But he said once that was reached it could usher in vaccine passports that are used in other parts of the world to allow greater freedom of movement.

Mr Foley said it was critical to get as many eligible Victorian vaccinated as soon as possible to reach sufficient coverage to better protect everyone.

“Extending that minimum interval increases the number of first doses of Pfizer that get into the arms of Victorians as quickly as we possibly can,” Mr Foley said.

“What this change is about is making sure that we extend the ring of protection that first-dose vaccines provide.”