34,808 new cases; ICU cases double since Friday

Victoria has announced 34,808 new Covid cases and two deaths overnight.

Currently 818 cases are undergoing treatment in hospital.

118 patients are undergoing intensive care — double since Frday — while 28 cases are on a ventilator.

The new case figure is down on the 44,155 reported on Sunday.

About half of the new cases came from rapid antigen tests, which are be recorded online, and the rest from traditional PCR testing.

The health department said 118 people were in ICU which included both active cases and those who have been cleared of the virus – 28 of those people were ventilated.

There are reports some general practices have cancelled appointments on Monday because of supply shortages.

But Covid-19 vaccination commander Lieutenant General John Frewen he urged parents to have patience as providers get up and running.

“We will be making sure that we get the supplies to those places where they are needed most,” he told Sunrise.

“(Have) a little bit of patience. I know people are very keen to get the kids vaccinated before school. It is just about us matching the vaccines up with where people are.

In Victoria, the number of state-run ­clinics offering child-friendly vaccines will double in a bid to vaccinate more than 500,000 ­Victorian children before school starts.

EXPECT TO CATCH COVID LIKE COMMON COLD

Australians have been told to expect Covid like they would the common cold as Victoria’s pandemic declaration was extended for another three months.

Federal deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd said on Sunday “many” people should expect to contract Covid in coming weeks and should “make sure (they) have some paracetamol or ibuprofen at home in case you’re diagnosed with Covid-19”.

Professor Kidd also suggested people drink an electrolyte solution to keep their fluids up.

He said many people would feel “anxious” about catching Covid but “most will have no symptoms or very mild symptoms”.

It signalled a major change in the attitude of authorities towards living with the virus.

Friends Vanessa Tsaples, Mickael Skey and Melissa Le Clerc were out on Sunday afternoon to celebrate Jacinta Ami’s 34th birthday, unperturbed by rising case numbers.

Birthday girl Ms Ami said she had accepted that she was likely to contract Covid at some point.

“Why stop my life – life is short so just be cautious and keep your social distance,” she said.

“You will get it and because it’s spreading so quickly and easily, it’s bound to happen.”

Ms Tsaples, 33, said she felt “a little nervous” about going out but “we’ve worked so hard the last two years and I just want to enjoy my summer holidays”.

“I’m young, I’m fit, I’m vaccinated … that’s all we can do, right. It’s my friend’s birthday, I want to be out, it’s a nice day and we can’t be locked up in our homes forever.”

Michael Skey, 20, had some reservations but said: “We’re young, we need to have fun and live life”.

Ms Le Clerc, 39, said she was trying to see “the good side of 2022”.

“We’ve been through the hard yards, so I think for me it’s trying to just rise above … and enjoy life,” she said. “There comes a point where you have to decide whether you want to be stuck in that fear or move on.”

As Victoria recorded 44,155 new Covid cases and four deaths on Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews extended the state’s pandemic declaration until mid-April.

It ensured the Health Minister would continue to have the power to make and enforce public health orders.

Testing sites, meanwhile, have begun handing out rapid antigen tests to people based on whether they have symptoms and how close a contact they are to an active case.

Despite the shift to RATs, Covid Commander Jeroen Weimar warned that testing sites would not become a free-for-all. Mr Weimar said RATs were not being handed out “like lollies” and authorities were “not collecting data for the hell of it”.

“We are asking people who have symptoms and recording basic data,” Mr Weimar said.

“This is still a controlled and clinically managed process.”