Victoria records 628 new local COVID-19 cases and three deaths

Another three people have died and 628 new coronavirus cases have been recorded in Victoria.

The state health department also said 43,056 vaccines were administered in state hubs and 60,829 test results received on Tuesday.

It comes as Melbourne braces for a third day of protests against the state government and COVID-19 vaccines.

Construction sites across Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong, Mitchell Shire and the Surf Coast were shut down for two weeks late on Monday, following the first day of demonstrations.

Premier Daniel Andrews said he was “gutted” to shut the industry for two weeks, but the move was forced due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in the sector.

“There are more coronavirus cases in construction than there are in aged care, more cases of coronavirus in the construction sector than there are patients with coronavirus in hospital across the whole hospital system,” he said on Wednesday.

Mr Andrews said nearly 90,000 people were vaccinated across the state on Tuesday.

“Vaccination is our pathway out of this,” he said.

Source: sbs.com.au