A third dose mandate for Victorians to enter pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues could be too hard to justify once Australia's borders reopen, Premier Daniel Andrews has said.
Mr Andrews has previously indicated that Victoria's current rules banning unvaccinated people from events, venues and some retail would be extended to three doses given that is now the definition of fully vaccinated.
But the Premier walked back this position this morning, because international travellers to Australia are only required to have two doses.
"There comes a point where things become kind of impractical and you've got so many different systems operating at once that it doesn't really work,'' Mr Andrews said.
"Saying to someone you can't go to the pub, unless you've got three jabs, but the person sitting at the table next to you, or you looking through the window and the person sitting in there having a steak and chips from another country has only got two [shots] it kind of gets a bit hard to justify."
The Premier also questioned why the Commonwealth had chosen to ignore the ATAGI advice about the definition of fully vaccinated.
Mr Andrews highlighted how the vaccinated economy had helped Victoria reach 93 per cent double dosed.
Leading epidemiologists have previously questioned the need for the vaccinated economy to remain given the dropping number of cases.
Victoria has recorded the deaths of a further 18 COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours.
The number of people in hospital after contracting the virus sits at 397, down from the 441 reported on Tuesday.
Of the people in hospital, 68 are in intensive care units and 13 are on ventilators.
The state has reported 8,149 new infections. That tally is comprised of 2,854 positive PCR tests and 5,295 positive rapid antigen test notifications.
It takes the number of officially reported active infections to 49,936, down from 50,967 on Tuesday.
About 52 per cent of the state's adult population has now had a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Elective surgery poised to fully return by February 28
All elective surgery across public and private hospitals in Victoria will resume by the end of the month.
Metropolitan public hospitals will be able to perform Category 2 surgery from next Monday, February 21.
Private hospitals in metropolitan areas will be able to undertake up to 75 per cent of any elective surgery activity, increasing from the current cap of 50 per cent.
A further increase to 100 per cent capacity is scheduled for February 28, based on the discretion of Health Minister Martin Foley.
In regional Victoria, the cap for private hospitals will increase from the current 75 per cent to up to 100 per cent on February 21 – while regional public hospitals can continue to deliver any elective surgery based on their individual capacity.
The Victoria government paused all non-urgent elective surgery on January 6 in the face of surging Omicron cases.
Mr Foley said stabilising COVID cases meant more staff were available across the health system.
"The COVID numbers have stabilised and as a result we've seen a reduction of, at the peak, over 5000 staff in our public health system not being available," Mr Foley said.
"With those numbers coming down to around 1400 people being furloughed off … we think this is a safe, prudent measure."
There are currently 44 hospitals operating as COVID-19 streaming hospitals in the state, with each to be individually assessed on their capacity to resume surgery.
Mr Foley said that while the health system was returning to more normal circumstances, there was no guarantee restrictions would not be reintroduced to alleviate strain on healthcare workers.
"Our approach needs to be cautious and steady to ensure they're able to cope without being further affected by fatigue and furloughs," he said.
Andrews apologises for vaccine website confusion
Mr Andrews has apologised for any confusion that may have arisen regarding information on the Department of Education website.
The website was incorrectly updated to reflect third-dose mandates for parents and carers.
"There is a line on the website that isn't right, that was drawn to our attention by the news coverage today," Mr Andrews said.
The School Operations Guide specifies that a third dose is required for all staff and visitors working on school sites, for example parents working in canteens or volunteering in classrooms, but is not required for parents and carers visiting school sites.
Parents and carers visiting school sites are currently required to be double vaccinated. We are still working through the updated ATAGI advice and will have more to say imminently about the definition of fully-vaccinated for other cohorts.
Mr Andrews said that while the information was not correct, parents should book appointments for booster doses if they have not done so already.
