Victoria records 246 new COVID-19 cases

A SEVENTEEN-year-old on a ventilator is among the one hundred and ten Victorians in hospital with coronavirus.

The state has recorded 246 new COVID-19 cases, including 156 not linked to known sources.

There are 1786 active cases in the state.

“There’s 110 people in hospital, 30 of those are in ICU, 14 on a ventilator,” Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.

“To give people a clear sense and hopefully remove any doubt this is everybody’s business, the age range of those ventilated patients is 17 years of age through to 76 years of age.”

Mr Andrews said none of the hospital patients were fully vaccinated and urged Victorians to get any COVID-19 vaccine available to them.

To help get more shots in more arms, the state will increase capacity, adding 40,000 vaccination appointments each week to Victorian-run hubs.

More cubicles will be added to Melbourne Town Hall and Port Melbourne Town Hall.

Vaccination centres will be created at Latrobe University and more cubicles added to the Melton drive-through hub.

On Monday, there were 43,858 tests were processed and 32,300 Victorians received a vaccine dose at a state-run hub.

A vaccination blitz of Victorian year 12 students will get under way after a dedicated hotline was flooded with calls.

The state is aiming to get all year 12 students vaccinated with at least one dose before their final exams, as part of a 10-day priority access scheme.

Pfizer bookings opened for year 12 students, teachers, exam supervisors and assessors on Monday, with a dedicated hotline fielding 30,000 calls before lunch.

By the afternoon, the health department said more than 7000 priority bookings had been made.

Melbourne will remain under tough lockdown restrictions until at least 70 per cent of eligible Victorians receive their first vaccine.

The state has hit 60 per cent first dose coverage and is expected to reach the 70 per cent target by about 19 September, sooner than the Government anticipated.

 

– BY AAP