COVID cases fall again

Victoria has recorded another 1749 new locally acquired COVID cases and 11 deaths:

Reported yesterday: 1,749 new local cases and 0 cases acquired overseas.
– 36,751 vaccines administered
– 68,702 test results received
– Sadly, 11 people with COVID-19 have died

More later: https://t.co/OCCFTAchah#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/0XWtbB2avZ

— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) October 18, 2021

By comparison, NSW has recorded only 273 locally acquired COVID cases and four deaths:

NSW COVID-19 update – Tuesday 19 October 2021
In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:

– 92.1% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
– 80.8% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/hewCu5K7XG

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 18, 2021

The next chart plots the daily cases across both states, which are both on the decline:

Active cases also look like they are peaking in Victoria, and have fallen sharply in NSW:

In other news, retailers have slammed the Victorian Government for not allowing retail to open to inside trade alongside hospitality on Friday. Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra warns that most general retailers will remain closed until the 80% vaccination target is reached in November.

Meanwhile, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says the state government hopes that all categories of elective surgery can resume in the week beginning 25 October. Sources have indicated that this will most likely initially be at around 75% of normal capacity. Elective surgery at both public and private hospitals has been suspended in response to the Delta variant, although some day surgery procedures resumed in early October.