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The number of daily cases of Covid-19 in Victoria continues to fall, with the state recording fewer than 10,000 cases and the number of those in hospital dropping below 550.
A total of 9,908 new cases were announced today, from 6,281 rapid tests and 3,627 PCRs. On January 17, Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton speculated that the state's Omicron peak had passed, as daily case numbers were on the way down. “There’s a lot of uncertainty, but I do think we are reasonably close to a peak if we’re not at a peak already," he said at the time. However, Sutton also warned that the number of people in hospital would continue to rise for some time, as hospitalisations usually trail daily cases by more than a week.
The number of people in hospital with the virus has also dropped, from a peak of 1,229 on January 19 to 542 on February 9.
About 93 per cent of Victorians over the age of 12 have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 46 per cent of those over 18 have received their booster. Anyone who received their second vaccine on or before November 9, 2021 can now receive a booster dose.