Australia’s Covid-19 cases count continues to rise by the thousands with Victoria recording 1750 new cases and New South Wales recording 332 of their own on Saturday.
Victoria added a further 1750 new locally-acquired infections to its Covid-19 caseload along with nine more deaths as the state continues to manage more than 23,000 active cases.
Some 770 patients are in Victorian hospitals, slightly down on the seven-day average of 790. Of them, 144 are in intensive care and 90 require ventilation.
Health authorities say more than 72,000 tests were conducted across the state in the 24 hours to Friday evening and more than 39,000 vaccine doses were administered.
More than 72 per cent of Victorians aged 16 or over are fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, more eased restrictions are on the way for Melburnians after celebrating their first day out of lockdown.
As the city emerged from its sixth lockdown on Friday, Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the state was on track to reach 80 per cent full vaccination by next weekend, paving the way for further restrictions to ease.
He said he would hold a press conference "quite soon to clarify what we hope can happen at the end of next week".
"We will deliver faithfully each and every item contained within the Victorian roadmap to deliver the national plan and if we can go further, then, of course, we will make announcements to that effect," Mr Andrews said.
To the north, New South Wales recorded 332 new local Covid-19 cases and two more deaths.
The number reported on Saturday is a slight drop from the previous day's tally of 345.
The number of people in hospital also dropped, to 469 from 482, with 123 people in intensive care.
Meanwhile, NSW residents can begin jetsetting internationally in just over a week, as airlines prepare for huge demand once international travel resumes.
The decision was made possible by Premier Dominic Perrottet's call to walk away from quarantine for international arrivals from November 1, Mr Joyce said.
The premier confirmed his intention to open up as quickly as possible, saying the resumption of international flights offered hope.
"There is change coming, and it's a turning point in this pandemic," Mr Perrottet said.
More than 92 per cent of NSW residents aged 16 and over have received at least one vaccine dose, with 83.7 per cent fully vaccinated by Thursday.
SHARE ME