Victoria has recorded 1749 new local Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths.
An ambulance is cleaned at Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne as the state's health system struggles with record high cases of Covid-19. Photo: AFP
There are now 22,476 active cases of the virus in Victoria, and 163 people have died during the current Delta outbreak.
The new cases were detected from 68,702 test results received yesterday.
There were 36,751 doses of vaccine administered at state-run sites yesterday, as well as more vaccinations at GP clinics and other venues.
Prior to yesterday's vaccinations, 88.5 percent of Victorians had received at least one dose, and 66.7 percent were fully vaccinated.
Epidemiologist Nancy Baxter from Melbourne University's School of Population and Global Health has warned cases in Victoria were unlikely to drop after lockdown restrictions are eased from Friday.
"We may never really see much of a decline because we'll start to be on the upswing from opening up. And you know, with the new freedoms that are being given as of this weekend I think that we are going to see a pretty rapid increase in cases," she said.
Professor Baxter said people should not throw caution to the wind when restrictions ease.
"If people don't feel comfortable doing all of the things that friends are inviting them to do, I think it is important for people not to feel that they're boring or afraid."
NSW numbers
Meanwhile, admissions to hospital in New South Wales have dipped to the lowest they have been in two months as the state recorded 273 Covid-19 cases and four deaths.
There are now 589 people in hospital, with 128 of them in ICU and 69 of whom require ventilation.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said 92.1 percent of people aged over 16 years have had their first Covid-19 vaccine dose and 80.8 percent have been double-dosed.
Dr Chant said health authorities were still anticipating a lag in infection numbers as the state continues to open up.
"There are a lot of uncertainties about what case numbers will do," she said.
"We would believe they would go up, as we have more interactions … to some extent it is about how people behave responsibly as we open up.
"Next week, I will be really interested in what our numbers are".
It is the first time since 23 August that total current admissions to hospital have dropped below 600 and Dr Chant said "the numbers speak for themselves".
"It has been a very busy time, but pleasingly we have seen those case numbers in ICU go down.
"But this will not mean they have much of a breather … we also have business as usual."
Of today's deaths, two were unvaccinated, one had received one dose and the other had only "just recently" received her second dose.
"Sadly, we are seeing people [who] have got underlying health conditions that are not yet vaccinated," Dr Chant said.
New cases for ACT
The ACT has recorded 24 new cases of Covid-19, as Canberrans celebrate reaching the milestone of 80 percent of the eligible population fully vaccinated.
Of the total new cases, 21 are linked to known cases or clusters.
There are 18 people in hospital with the virus, including 10 patients in intensive care.
A little over 1800 negative test results were returned in the past 24 hours.
Earlier today, Chief Minister Andrew Barr revealed changes to the ACT's roadmap of eased restrictions, including the news that retail would reopen by the end of the week.
- ABC