Premier Daniel Andrews says Omicron has peaked in Victoria, infections slowing faster than predicted

Daniel Andrews has revealed some good news for the state, confirming the decline in the Covid-19 cases is tracking better than predicted.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has revealed some good news for the state, confirming the decline in the Covid-19 cases is tracking better than modelling has predicted.

The state reported 10,589 new infections and 20 deaths on Sunday.

In the latest reporting period, 4479 of the new cases were reported from PCR tests and 6110 cases were from rapid antigen tests.

On Australia Day, the state saw more than 139,000 cases with that number slowly declining throughout the week.

The total number of active cases in the state on Sunday stands at 78,294, down from 79,836 reported on Saturday and 101,605 on Friday.

Sunday’s case numbers are well below the peak of more than 253,000 cases reported less than a fortnight ago.

Mr Andrews confirmed the current 7-day average stands at 12,659, down from the previous week’s 7-day average of nearly 19,000.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Wearing masks on public transport due to the covid-19 global pandemic will remain indefinitely while the omicron variant continues to spread throughout Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

Mr Andrews was confident the state has seen its peak of Omicron cases but warned they weren’t out of the woods yet, with challenges ahead as schools return.

“The Chief Health Officer is of the view we have seen that peak but with school coming back it will be challenging,” he said.

“But our staff, students and parent communities are working as hard as they can.

“There will be cases that add to our tally but the benefits of having school back far outweigh the challenges,” Mr Andrews said.

“The view of many experts is that we are past the peak and the data supports that.

“That is all despite the inconvenience we have had. This is not the summer we all wanted but we are making sacrifices to keep people safe.

““The numbers are more positive than we hoped and we hope it continues.

“But it is all in our own hands, in how conduct ourselves and (ensuring) we get our third dose.”

A Coles supermarket in South Melbourne almost sold out of toilet paper as Covid continues to affect retail supplies. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

It came as Mr Andrews criticised anti-vaxxers, labelling them “wrong”, while hinting it will only be a matter of time before a third-jab mandate is implemented.

Currently only 31 per cent of Victorians have received a booster shot, despite hundreds of thousands of appointments now being available and 2.1 million people now eligible.

Mr Andrews said movement around third dose mandates would likely happen in the next week or so.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before the relevant federal agencies confirm that it is three doses to be protected,” he said.

“There’s already been some mandating done for third doses, and there will be more.

“Those who are not vaccinated have made the wrong choice. They’ve made a choice that puts so many other people at risk. I could not be more clear about that.”

Originally published as Premier Daniel Andrews says Omicron has peaked in Victoria, infections slowing faster than predicted