New Covid warning as hospital admissions rise and top doctor warns new variant is spreading rapidly in Victoria

Victoria is in the midst of another Covid-19 wave as increases in community transmission lead to a rapid rise in hospital admissions.

A new sub-variant of the virus, JN.1, has taken over as the most common variant of Covid in the state, mirroring the same trend felt internationally.

The seven-day average of hospitalizations due to the contagious virus has risen to 377 in recent weeks.

This follows a large number of cases detected in November, although the numbers are not as high as the peak levels seen during the surge in May and June last year, which saw a seven-day average of 488 hospital admissions.

The housing and care sectors have been urged to activate policies aimed at protecting people at serious risk from Covid-19, including older Victorians, people suffering from medical conditions, and aged and disability care patients.

People in those groups are urged to use masks, and surveillance testing is recommended.

Victorians have been reminded that symptoms can occur within 2 to 14 days of exposure to the virus, with a runny nose, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath and fever all common symptoms.

While mandatory mask regulations expired in early 2022, at-risk Victorians are urged to wear them in high-risk settings or if they feel they have symptoms.

The Ministry of Health plans to continue monitoring and monitoring surveillance indicators, such as hospitalizations and wastewater testing, until transmission trends trend downward.

Earlier on Monday, Victoria's chief health officer warned that the emergence of JN.1 had created a “wave upon wave” pattern, with the variant spreading just as the state emerged from an earlier wave of the disease.

“Part of the concern with this new variant is actually the speed at which it takes off,” Dr Clare Looker told Nine Newspapers.

“So over a few weeks we've seen it very quickly become the dominant variant in the community.”