With Victoria soon to hit its 70 per cent double dose vaccination target and first dose vaccination figures soon to hit 90 per cent, safe and sensible changes can now be made to how close contacts are managed.

On the advice of the Chief Health Officer, from 11.59pm Thursday 21 October, non-household primary close contacts (PCCs) who are fully vaccinated will only need to quarantine for 7 days.

This change will also apply to industry, where all workplace primary close contacts will be required to isolate for 7 days if they are fully vaccinated. Household and unvaccinated PCCs will still be required to isolate for 14 days.

PCCs required to isolate for 7 days will need to return negative test results on both day 1 and day 6 of their quarantine.

Critical industries such as health services and supermarkets will maintain their own furlough arrangements that have been developed based on public health advice and in recognition of their unique settings.

Double dosed vaccination results in a significant reduction in your chances of becoming infected, and because so many Victorians have come forward to get vaccinated so quickly, these changes are now possible.

Household contacts of a positive case will need to continue to isolate for 14 days as they continue to have the highest risk of infection, with on average 45 per cent of all household PCCs testing positive even when fully vaccinated – a far greater risk of infection than Tier 1 PCCs.

These changes are also possible given close to 90 percent of people infected with Delta will be positive by day 7 whereas previously with other strains it could be anytime up to 14 days.

As Victoria opens up and community transmission increases, our high vaccination rates will mean the impacts of isolating for 14 days are far greater than the risk they might pose to the community.

As more Victorians get vaccinated, more changes like this can be made to help us get back to normal. Work is also underway by public health experts on a broader review of isolation protocols, as Victoria moves towards 80 per cent double dose and beyond

If you haven’t booked your appointment, please book it today – Victorians can also book a vaccine appointment through their trusted GP or pharmacist by visiting coronavirus.vic.gov.au.