Coronavirus: Victoria records 1638 new Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths

Covid-19 case numbers in Victoria continue to surge, while two more deaths were reported.

Victoria’s Covid Commander Jeroen Weimar. Picture: Getty Images

Victoria has recorded 1638 new Covid-19 cases and two death in the past 24 hours, while 36,672 vaccines were administered and 77,238 test results received.

The state’s active caseload now stands at 15,074.

Reported yesterday: 1,638 new local cases and 0 cases acquired overseas.
- 36,672 vaccines administered
- 77,238 test results received
- Sadly, 2 people with COVID-19 have died

More later: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/DZzVEwqSE6

— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) October 6, 2021

Currently, 83.6 per cent of eligible Victorians have received a single vaccine dose, with 54.5 per cent fully vaccinated.

There are still some areas of major concern in Victoria.

Children being treated in the cancer ward of a major hospital in Melbourne have been exposed to Covid-19, forcing some kids and their parents and carers to isolate inside their rooms for the next 14 days.

Royal Children’s Hospital chief executive Bernadette McDonald said an affected parent had visited their child in the Kookaburra unit, prompting health authorities to declare the oncology ward a tier-one exposure site.

Ms McDonald said it was not yet known whether any other children in the Kookaburra Ward had contracted the virus and said contact tracing was under way.

“This is something that is happening across Victoria, across Melbourne in particular,” she said.

“This is why we have our screening processes in place so the moment somebody tests positive, we can find out about that and try to keep people out of the hospital as much as possible.”

The dates of exposure were between last Friday, October 1, and Monday, October 4, and it is believed the parent tested positive after their visit.

State’s rapid testing plan

The Victorian government has announced it will purchase 2.2 million rapid antigen tests, which would initially be used in healthcare before being rolled out in other high risk work, including childcare, schools, corrections and emergency services.

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley acknowledged they were not the “gold standard” PCR tests but said they would normalise the way authorities dealt with Covid infections in a vaccinated community.

“As Victoria does get closer to that 80 per cent double-dosed threshold and in line with what the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved, there will be plenty of use in industry but domestic use (too),” he said.

“Rapid antigen testing will be part of the ongoing toolkit to make sure we can manage and deal with the potential of Covid in our daily lives.”

Mr Foley could not say how much the tests would cost, but they range between $10 and $22 currently.

Rapid antigen tests have been trialled with workers on level crossing removal sites and at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Targeted surveillance using rapid antigen testing program will also be expanded to the construction and food supply sectors. Any positive result will require follow up with a PCR test.