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Victoria recorded 7223 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths on Sunday, after new data showed QR code check-ins across the state have fallen by more than 50 per cent since the end of last year.
There are now 465 people in hospital with the virus in Victoria, with 17 on ventilators and 181 in intensive care.
Of the new cases reported across the state, 2364 were confirmed by PCR tests, while 4859 were self-reported from rapid antigen tests. More than 19,178 PCR tests results were returned on Saturday.
Victoria now has 54,494 active cases.
Data compiled by The Sunday Age shows the number of QR code scans in Victoria dropped from 45.6 million in the final week of November to a weekly average of 20.3 million in February.
Treasurer Tim Pallas conceded on Saturday that Victorians were getting “a little complacent” about using the codes, but the check-in requirement would remain to enforce vaccine mandates in bars and restaurants and encourage Victorians to get booster jabs.
“I think it is apparent that people are getting a little complacent around QR codes,” he said.
“The important thing to bear in mind, however, is that they do serve a vitally important part of the architecture for the vaccinated economy.”
Last week, Queensland removed the requirement for people to check in to venues that don’t require proof of vaccination status, such as supermarkets, citing a lack of compliance. The ACT and South Australia have also scaled back the use of QR codes.
According to the data, there were 24.2 million check-ins across Victoria in the first week of October and 25.2 million in the second week. Weekly check-ins rose to well over 40 million in November as Victoria emerged from lockdown.
Around 93 per cent of Victorians have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 50 of the population aged over 18 have received a booster dose. There were 16,701 inoculations administered at state-run sites across Saturday.
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