Victoria reports seven COVID-19 deaths and 1268 cases as travel across NSW resumes

Victoria is now managing 16,662 active cases.

The latest figures come after two COVID-19 cases were linked to Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.

The Victoria Racing Club confirmed on Friday a contractor and patron who were at Flemington Racecourse on Melbourne Cup Day have tested positive for coronavirus. Both cases are fully vaccinated and not linked to each other.

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The affected venues have been deep-cleaned.

Health Minister Martin Foley said the cases showed Victoria's vaccinated economy system was working and punters should be confident Saturday's meeting will be "safe".

Meanwhile, Victoria's struggling health system will receive $307 million to free up capacity in hospitals and ambulances amid a surge in demand.

The health department is under pressure to release the total number of patients in ICU after it was revealed only infectious patients are being reported in the daily virus numbers.

NSW reports 270 cases, three deaths

Meanwhile, New South Wales has reported 270 new locally acquired COVID-19 infections and three deaths, as travel across the state resumes.

Some 270 patients with the virus also remain in the state's hospitals, 55 of them in ICU.

Health officials say there were more than 72,000 COVID-19 tests conducted statewide in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday.

Almost 94 per cent of people aged 16 or over have so far received one vaccine dose and 89.4 per cent are fully immunised.

This weekend is the first since restrictions have lifted on travel from Greater Sydney to regional areas for fully vaccinated people.

An increase in virus cases in regional and remote areas this week has sparked concerns Indigenous communities are underprepared for an outbreak.

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The Hunter New England health district recorded more new cases on Friday than any other in NSW, representing 73 of 249 locally acquired infections.

Ongoing sewage surveillance also found fragments of the virus in samples collected from areas where there are no known cases.

NSW local government areas were on Friday declared "green zones", permitting travel to Victoria without quarantine testing, but visitors still need a permit verifying they are not infected.

This weekend is the last for the Qudos Bank Arena vaccination hub at Sydney Olympic Park, which vaccinated more than 15,000 people a day during some periods of the recent Delta outbreak.

NSW is now on the cusp of 90 per cent full vaccination but is setting its sights on 95 per cent before December 15, at which time remaining restrictions will drop, including for the unvaccinated. 

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