Authorities in Victoria have raised fears that Victoria's Covid case numbers could spike due to illegal grand final celebrations, with footy fans urged to stay home.
The AFL grand final is set to take place on Saturday night at Perth's Optus Stadium after it was moved from the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the second consecutive year due to the Covid outbreak.
As the state recorded 847 locally acquired Covid cases on Saturday, Victoria's Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said he was nervous celebrations for the clash between Victorian teams Western Bulldogs and Melbourne Demons.
'I'm extremely worried large numbers of Victorians will say tonight, ''well just for tonight, we'll all get together and have a good night out'',' Mr Weimar told reporters on Saturday.
Victoria's Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said he is nervous that celebrations for the clash between two Victorian teams could cause Covid transmissions to spread
'We'll take our masks off and we'll scream and we'll shout and have a good drink.'
'And as a result of that, in six, seven days down the road, we've got another big cluster of cases,' Mr Weimar added.
Mr Weimar noted that 45 per cent of Saturday's cases were due to illegal household interactions, which is something they still see too much of.
On Friday, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton advised footy fanatics not to gather in large crowds at football supporter bases after Saturday night's result or Sunday as the city's curfew will stay in place.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton advised footy fanatics not to gather in large crowds after Saturday night's result or Sunday (Pictured: AFL fans at the People's Parade in Perth on Friday)
'We don't want to see crowds down at Whitten Oval, we don't want to see crowds down at Gosch's Paddock after the match or on Sunday, either in celebration or commiseration.'
'It is those close contacts that put you, your friends and your households at risk,' he added.
Mr Sutton said that the grand final match should be enjoyed at home with your household in whatever style you please and celebrate the game with friends and family online.
Mr Sutton said that the grand final match should be enjoyed at home with your household in whatever style you please and celebrate the game with friends and family online (Pictured: AFL fans arriving at Optus Stadium in Perth ahead of the AFL Grand Final)
'Enjoy your fancy cheese boards or whatever way you want to enjoy it at home.
'Put the barbecue on, put your iPad up, have your phones on FaceTime, cry and scream and laugh and joke over the internet to connect with friends and family, and enjoy the spirit of the day in full.'
The grand final decider is scheduled to kick off at 7:15pm AEST on Saturday.
Mr Sutton told AFL fanatics: 'Enjoy your fancy cheese boards or whatever way you want to enjoy it at home' (Pictured: AFL fans arriving at Optus Stadium in Perth for the AFL grand final)
After Victoria missed its vaccination deadline, the next set of restrictions to be eased have been pushed back a week later than planned.
Health Minister Martin Foley has conceded the state is unlikely to hit 80 per cent first dose coverage of the eligible population by Sunday as initially forecast, with the figure currently sitting at 76.3 per cent.
'We would expect that, certainly by mid to late next week, we'll hit that,' Mr Foley told reporters on Friday.
'These projections bounce around based on all sorts of measures. Let's all redouble our efforts over this weekend.'
There were 37,220 vaccines administered and 59,342 Covid-19 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.
Victoria has recorded 847 new Covid-19 cases with the next set of restrictions
