‘Numbers dip’: Weimar says signs are encouraging as state records 16,016 new cases and 20 deaths

Victoria’s active cases have dropped by almost 14 per cent from Friday’s number even though the state recorded 16,016 COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 20 deaths, as COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said discussions were still under way about making a booster dose mandatory for some sectors.

COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said the signs were that case numbers were falling.Credit: Luis Ascui

The number of active cases in the state fell by nearly 35,000 from 252,399 on Friday to 217,505 on Saturday as the Andrews government urges retired teachers and support staff to head back to schools amid expected virus staff shortages.

The people who died were aged in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Third doses of vaccines have been implemented in high-risk sectors such as health and aged care, Mr Weimar said, but other sectors could also see the third dose part of the mandatory regime.

“There are ongoing conversations with other sectors and people. I’m aware that some industries have come forward and are quite keen to see mandates coming in to encourage their staff to get boosted, those conversations, I think, are at various stages of development.”

Of the new cases reported, 8432 came from PCR tests, while 7584 were self-reported from rapid antigen tests.

About 62 per cent of the people who reported positive rapid antigen test results took the tests on Friday, while about 19 per cent took the tests on Thursday.

The remainder of people took the tests over the previous five days.

The Chief Health Officer’s update said that, “as part of the transition to a permanent rapid antigen test reporting system”, 26,000 historic rapid test cases were stripped from Victoria’s active case numbers on Friday.

“Another 35,000 cases will be removed from the rapid test system over today and tomorrow,” the update said.

There are now 1029 people in hospital with the virus in Victoria, with 39 people on a ventilator and 120 in intensive care. More than 39,179 PCR tests results were returned on Friday, down from more than 43,000 the day before.

Mr Weimar said the state’s seven-day average appeared to be falling.

“We’re starting to see the last few days those numbers dip down a little bit lower which is an encouraging sign, I think it reflects the behaviours of so many Victorians, over the last few weeks.”

The positivity rate of people testing for COVID-19 has also been dropping, Mr Weimar said, dipping slightly below 20 per cent, but he reiterated the future was an unknown.

“I’ve been waiting to see I think the overall mobility data that we’ve seen, some of the retail data that we’ve seen in the last few weeks, indicates that people are putting their horns in a bit and not going out and doing as much as they otherwise might,” he said.

“I think again people, on one level that’s the people making pragmatic decisions about what’s right for them. And that’s kind of the environment we’re in at the moment. Let’s see how that pans out over the weeks ahead.

“I think clearly with businesses [they] will open up and when schools open up again, we’ll see a different activity profile in February than we’ve seen in January. I think it’s too early for us to call what the numbers are going to do and how everyone’s going to behave. But I think we’re at a far better place than we were three weeks ago.”

On Friday, Treasurer Tim Pallas said he believed the state was passing the peak of its Omicron wave.

“It’s something like a two-week period since we’ve had numbers as low as this,” he said.

“Things are hopefully demonstrating that we’re getting beyond the peak.”

But Mr Pallas stressed also that significant challenges remained with the Omicron wave.

“I know people are tired, and I do very much well empathise with them in those circumstances, but I have to make the point that it isn’t over simply because we wish it to be and the threat is real and it is apparent,” he said.

A central pool of qualified school staff will be recruited by the state government to help plug gaps when current staff must isolate due to COVID-19 infection or exposure.

The Andrews government will also call on people with administrative experience as well as allied health professionals to join its pool of stand-by staff that schools will have access to when their own employees are forced out of action.

Children arrive at school wearing masks.Credit: AP

The pool will only be available to government schools, which educate roughly two-thirds of Victorian schoolchildren.

Education Minister James Merlino said the staffing pool would enable schools to fill COVID-related vacancies at short notice, helping them to stay open and reduce disruptions to learning.

“Every sector is under pressure from the Omicron variant, and education will be no exception, but we’re taking action early to make sure staff absences don’t mean huge disruptions for students’ learning,” he said.

With 27,051 doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Victoria’s state-run hubs on Thursday, 93 per cent of the population aged over 12 have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 29 per cent of over-18s in the state have received a booster dose.

Victoria’s rising third vaccination levels come after hospitality and retail groups met with the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions on Friday to discuss how making the COVID-19 booster mandatory might affect their staff and customers.

Mr Pallas announced on Friday that public sector workers, including nurses, teachers, paramedics, police and firefighters, would be able to access half a day of paid time off to get their third dose.

The Chief Health Officer warned that while people who tested positive for COVID-19 were automatically released from seven-day isolation, those who still had symptoms should avoid social gatherings, sensitive settings and vulnerable people until those symptoms were gone.

With Cassandra Morgan

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.