Victoria has reported a record 1,965 new Covid-19 cases and five deaths overnight with the state tipped to reach both its vaccination targets ahead of schedule.
Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar has provided the latest vaccination tracking to the state government with the figures revealing the state will hit its 70 and 80 per cent vaccination milestones early.
Victoria was expected to hit the 70 per cent double jab rate by October 26. It is now expected to meet the milestone on October 23.
The 80 per cent milestone was forecast to be met on November 5. The date has been cut by two days to November 3.
The promising vaccination rates could mean that restrictions are eased sooner despite rising Covid-19 case numbers.
The 1,965 new cases announced on Saturday smash the 1,838 cases reported on Friday. It sets a new record for the most daily cases ever recorded in Australia during the pandemic.
The state was expected to hit the 70 per cent double jab rate by October 26 (pictured, healthcare worker at drive-through in Melbourne)
Children in grades three to six will be forced to wear masks in Victorian schools after new rules are set to be introduced (pictured, Carlton Gardens Primary)
There were 41,177 vaccines administered and 73,443 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.
Melbourne University clinical epidemiologist Professor Nancy Baxter said it would be catastrophic to reopen the state when case numbers were so high.
'A lot more people will die if we open up with high numbers than if we open up with low numbers,' Prof Baxter said.
'In terms of the plan for opening up, an increase in mobility is going to drive up cases, when we're at a high number of cases already.
'I don’t know what the numbers will be (at the point of reopening) – I anticipate they will still be high, even if we have reached the peak and started to come down – but while numbers are important, the main thing is what’s happening in hospitals and ICU and ambulances.'
The cases come as face masks will be made mandatory for all children in grades three to six in an effort to reduce COVID-19 spread as students start returning to the classroom.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said masks will be required indoors at school for those students, while mask-wearing will be 'strongly recommended' but not mandated for younger children from prep to grade two.
'We really want to have these measures in place early on to keep kids in school and to make sure that they are as safe as possible in the school environment,' he told reporters.
He said face masks, along with ventilation and other COVID-safe measures, had prevented virus transmission in schools overseas.
'In many states in America, school mask mandates have been put in place and they have helped to reduce transmission,' Professor Sutton said.
'It really has been shown that where there are multiple layers of risk mitigation within the schools, that you can keep a cap on transmission and have kids return safely to that environment.'
Health authorities and the state government are in the process of drafting the mask rules, ahead of a staged return to classrooms in coming weeks.
Students aged 12 and over are already required to wear face masks at school,
