Victoria records 8,577 new COVID-19 cases, three deaths as hospitalisations rise
ABCVictorians are being urged to book in their booster and child vaccinations as soon as possible, in a bid to suppress a wave of hospitalisations as Omicron infections surge to record levels. Key points: Around one in five COVID-19 PCR tests are now returning positive results There are 38,118 active cases of the virus and 718 people have died during the current outbreak Hospitalisations due to COVID-19 are expected to significantly increase this month However, in a media release late on Monday evening, the department said state-run vaccination centres could not take any bookings for the five to 11 age group on Tuesday due to a technical error. "We're really in a crisis in terms of availability of aged care staff not only in Melbourne but across the country," he said. "We're telling people not to make any calls about that, because we can't tell them when the vaccine clinic will be for children," Dr Haikerwal said. Ross Yannicos said he was "quite disheartened" when the vaccination appointment he made for his six year-old daughter Emily was pushed back.