Victoria has recorded 1007 new Covid-19 cases as the state’s chief health officer expresses concern about the new Omicron variant.
Victoria has recorded 1007 new local Covid-19 cases on Monday and three more deaths.
There were 300 cases being treated in hospital, with 44 in intensive care and 17 on a ventilator.
The state’s vaccine rate continues to rise, however, with 90 per cent of Victorians aged from 12 having now received both doses of the Covid-19 jab.
Australia remains on fresh high alert with a new strain of the virus Omicron officially reaching Australian shores on the weekend.
Genomic testing confirmed two overseas travellers who returned to Sydney from southern Africa on Saturday had been infected with the new Covid-19 variant.
Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton said Omicron was likely an especially transmissible strain of Covid-19 that was potentially resistant to vaccines.
He said this was due to the rate at which it has spread across South Africa, adding that it had become the predominant variant in the country.
“It is likely to be a very transmissible variant, but we will have greater clarity on that in coming days,” Mr Sutton said.
All international arrivals into Victoria will now have to isolate and those who visited one of the nine African countries of concern will have to quarantine for a fortnight.
Professor Sutton said the measures would be reviewed in three days and could be extended if necessary.
“We will have a much better understanding in terms of the global spread but also whether it’s here in Victoria and indeed some of those issues around severity and illness may become clearer even in the next couple of days,” he said.
Originally published as Victoria records 1007 new local Covid-19 cases
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