Amid record cases deaths Victoria looks to cut Pfizer dose interval as restrictions ease

Melburnians awoke to slightly eased restrictions on Wednesday as the state recorded 950 new local coronavirus cases and seven deaths, and the government looked to cut the interval between Pfizer doses this week.

The case numbers are the highest recorded so far in Victoria, and the number of deaths is also the highest recorded in the state this year.

Five of those who died were from Hume in Melbourne’s north-west: two women in their 80s, one man in his 80s, a woman in her 70s, and a woman in her 50s.

The remaining two people who died were a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 90s, both from Whittlesea in Melbourne’s outer north.

Health Minister Martin Foley said there were 371 people in hospital with COVID-19 in the state. Of those people, 81 were in intensive care and 55 were on a ventilator.

Of the more than 15,000 people in Victoria who have contacted coronavirus since July 12, 88 per cent were unvaccinated at their time of diagnosis.

Acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie said 79 per cent of the cases since July were eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination but of the people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 since July, 86 per cent were not vaccinated.

“And 98 per cent of individuals admitted to our intensive care units with COVID-19 were unvaccinated - 98 per cent,” Professor Cowie said.

“So, [this is the sort] of data that [shows] how powerful all these vaccines are against preventing infection and especially, preventing serious illness, ending up in hospital and losing your life.”

Of today’s 950 cases, according to Professor Cowie, there are:

Hundreds in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, including 240 in Hume, 102 in Whittlesea, 63 in Moreland, and 28 in Darebin;

Thirty-one are from within Melbourne City Council;

In the western suburbs, 55 in Melton, 54 in Wyndham, 63 in Brimbank, 29 in Moonee Valley, and 22 in Maribyrnong;

In the south-eastern suburbs, 50 in Casey, 14 in Cardinia, 18 in Port Philip, 16 in Greater Dandenong, and 10 in Stonnington;

In the eastern suburbs, 15 in Manningham, and six in Boroondara;

In regional Victoria, 30 new cases, including nine in Mitchell; four in Warrnambool; two in Moorabool; two in Wellington; one each in Strathbogie, the Surf Coast, Ballarat, Murrindindi, Baw Baw, South Gippsland and Corangamite; and four in the Latrobe City Council area.

Professor Cowie said there are now 225 active coronavirus cases in regional Victoria.

Mr Foley said authorities had “little or no choice” to act quickly in the Latrobe Valley with a seven-day lockdown from 11.59pm on Tuesday after cases spiked in the regional area.

The cases have been linked to an illegal social gathering that was held over the weekend, with people from 19 households in the area testing positive for coronavirus.

Mr Foley said given the gathering happened on Saturday night, police were investigating, and “you could draw your links that [the gathering] might well have had some crossover with the AFL Grand Final”.

“I apologise for the short notice but the strong advice from the public health team was given the rapidly deteriorating situation, these strong measures to keep that community as safe as possible were required,” Mr Foley said.

“We really had little or no choice through the public health advice but to act, and to act quickly.

“We expect that the testing demand is high and the reports that we’ve had this morning is that that is precisely the case.

“We ask those with symptoms, and those who have been contacted as close contacts of cases, of which there are a growing number … to come forward and get tested.”

As Latrobe City Council went into lockdown, moving under the same restrictions as Melbourne but without the curfew, restrictions eased elsewhere.

The eased restrictions overnight mean the travel limit has been extended from 10 kilometres to 15 kilometres for residents of metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, non-contact outdoor activities including golf are back on the agenda and long-suffering parents can again remove their masks to eat and drink at playgrounds.

Wednesday’s new coronavirus cases come from 61,322 tests. There are now 9890 active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria while 34,028 people rolled up their sleeves for a coronavirus jab.

Shane Nolan and Anthony Carden were eager to make the most of the eased restrictions at Albert Park Golf Club.Credit:Wayne Taylor

Professor Cowie said in the next seven days there were 7700 first-dose Pfizer appointments available in the state, and 8800 first-dose AstraZeneca appointments.

The Victorian government is preparing to shorten the gap between first and second doses of Pfizer to speed up the state’s vaccine program and reach inoculation targets faster, as soon as it receives certainty of supply, Mr Foley said.

“If that advice comes in and we can lock in those changes, we will lock them in the minute we possibly can, because everyone wants to bring forward those double-dose dates,” Mr Foley said.

“But we can’t do it at the expense of canceling first vaccination programs.”

The government is waiting on formal confirmation of Pfizer supply for state-run hubs for the final week of October. Federal government sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Victoria’s hubs would receive 265,000 doses in both the last weeks of October.

However, the Victorian government has only been notified of the third week’s supply.

A health department spokesperson said cases in the City of Latrobe had rapidly increased in recent days, with 18 active cases in the area as of Tuesday. A further four cases were also confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, and were included in Wednesday’s numbers.

“The public health teams have significant concerns about onward transmission in the Latrobe Valley and have determined that the seven-day lockdown is needed to limit growth in cases, as it did in Ballarat and Geelong,” the spokesperson said.

“A rapid response testing team has been deployed to provide support for the testing site at the indoor sports stadium on Ashby Street in Traralgon, and additional resources will be provided to boost capacity and extend opening hours.

“Locals are asked to be on high alert for symptoms and get tested if any develop.”

In Melbourne, however, Port Melbourne resident Dene Heath was among golfers rejoicing at the eased restrictions for Melbourne on Wednesday morning.

He and one of his staff members turned up at Albert Park Golf Course - now booked out for six days - at 6.15am. Mr Heath said it had been more than three months since he “pulled out the sticks”; the longest break he’d had from the sport since he was about nine years old.

David McCartney and Dene Heath were among those who hit Albert Park Golf Course on Wednesday morning. Credit:Wayne Taylor

“It was phenomenal,” Mr Heath said. “Just the change in attitude having a conversation on a golf course over nine holes this morning versus a traditional Zoom call was just wonderful.

“I turned up in the dark ... and pulled out the putter and everyone was amazingly energetic.”

St Kilda resident Anthony Carden, who also hit the course, said he planned on trying to play golf every day this week.

East Brighton resident Robbie Gore said it was wonderful for his mental health to be back out playing golf, but he expected it would be tough to tee off again during the week “because everybody wants to play”.

Albert Park Golf Course general manager Sam Adams said they were booking at half their normal capacity to abide by density rules. “People are really enjoying being back playing golf and there’s a very good vibe around,” he said.

Cheltenham Golf Club manager Calum McCarthy said that, by Wednesday morning, the club was booked out until about Sunday.

Mr McCarthy started in the job about four weeks ago, but Wednesday was his first day putting faces to names because of lockdown restrictions.

“Everyone’s just smiling, even though you can’t really see the smiles under the masks, but everyone’s just very happy to be back and playing golf,” he said.

“We believe it to be a safe environment and it’s good to see that the government has come around and realised that as well.”

For the time being, the club was letting both vaccinated and unvaccinated players on the course, but it had flagged with members that would change by about mid-October.

“A lot of local golf clubs in the area are going down the path of a “no jab, no play” policy; we thought it’s best because we’ve obviously got a duty of care with regards to our members, the public, our staff,” Mr McCarthy said.

“The uptake from our membership base has been fantastic.

“I’ve had one or two dealings with our membership base of 500 with regards to questions about the policy [that] we’re planning on putting in place, but everybody else has been showing me their COVID vaccine certificates so we can update their profiles to notify our staff that ... they are vaccinated.”

Restaurants and cafes across the rest of regional Victoria can now increase their outdoor venue cap from 20 to 30 people.

Regional Victorians can also remove their masks at hair and beauty salons if a service, like a facial or beard trimming, requires it.

With Erin Pearson

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