More elective surgery will be done in Victoria after procedures were put on hold to increase the state's COVID-19 capacity.
Health Minister Martin Foley announced on Thursday private hospital and day procedure centres in Melbourne and Geelong will scale up by 50 per cent from Monday.
Subscribe for FREE to the HealthTimes magazine
"Some elective surgery was paused as hospitalisations surged but with the rapid take up of vaccines helping reduce numbers, we can now make these cautious changes and help ease that burden on unwell Victorians," Mr Foley said in a statement.
"But COVID is not over yet and we will closely monitor the number of cases and hospitalisations to ensure we can respond as needed."
These changes will bring Melbourne and Geelong into line with private hospitals in Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and the Latrobe Valley.
Some metropolitan public hospitals not designated as major COVID-19 streaming sites will also expand surgery to 50 per cent of their normal activity.
Patients will be prioritised based on urgency.
There are 15,675 active cases in the state, including 457 in hospital, with 79 in intensive care and 48 on ventilators.
Victoria recorded 1313 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths on Thursday.
A crowd of 3800 fully vaccinated people were allowed to attend the Remembrance Day service in Melbourne for the first time in two years.
Crowds were banned last year as the city was just emerging from its second lockdown.
Bookings were not required for the ceremony but attendees had to show proof they are double-vaccinated and check in.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews attended the event.
It comes after protesters in September swarmed the shrine for a violent anti-lockdown rally, which was slammed as disrespectful by veterans and police.
Just under 93 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over have received at least one vaccine dose and 85 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Almost all restrictions are set to be scrapped for the fully vaccinated when the state reaches 90 per cent double-dosed, which is forecast to occur by November 24.
Comments