Daniel Andrews hopeful Victorian Covid-19 case numbers have peaked

Victoria’s seven day Covid case average has fallen for the first time since the current outbreak began in August, fuelling hope the peak may finally have been reached.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews in question time on Tuesday. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Premier Daniel Andrews says he is optimistic Covid-19 case numbers finally may have peaked in Victoria, after the state’s seven-day average fell on Tuesday for the first time since its current outbreak emerged on August 4.

Victoria reported 1466 cases on Tuesday morning, down from Saturday’s record of 1965.

“That’s positive. We obviously hope that trend continues,” Mr Andrews said. “We’ve referred a number of times to the experience in NSW, where once they reached 50 per cent double dosed there was a bit of a turnaround in relation to the number of cases that they were seeing.

“Obviously this is one week, it’s only a handful of days, and it shouldn’t be seen as a signal that somehow this is over.

“Go and get vaccinated, that’s the most important thing.”

According to the latest federal government figures, 86.22 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and older had received at least a first dose of Covid vaccine as of Sunday, and 60.37 per cent had received two doses.

Victoria is on track to reach 70 per cent double vaccination on October 22, four days ahead of the Andrews government road map date of October 26. Based on the current rate of second doses, the state will reach 80 per cent full vaccination on Melbourne Cup Day, November 2.

Mr Andrews said he was pleased by a turnaround in vaccination rates in Covid hot spots in Melbourne’s west and north. He singled out Wyndham, in the outer southwest, where 94.2 per cent of residents aged 16 and older had received at least one dose of vaccine as of Sunday.

The local government area had Victoria’s highest Covid caseload during the second wave and was the epicentre of the initial stages of the current outbreak.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton said he was “cautiously optimistic” numbers were dropping.

“That’s not to say that we shouldn’t keep our guard up or that we might not see an uptick in cases, but with higher and higher levels of vaccination coverage each and every day in Victoria, across Australia, it does give me hope,” Professor Sutton said.

Eight deaths of people with Covid were reported on Tuesday, bringing Victoria’s toll from the current outbreak to 101.

There were 675 people in Victorian hospitals with Covid, including 144 in intensive care units, of whom 100 were on ventilators. This compared with 677 in hospital on Monday, including 133 in ICU and 94 on ventilators.