Victoria has recorded 1069 new COVID-19 infections and a further two deaths, as access to booster vaccines has been reduced by a month.
It is the seventh consecutive day Victoria has recorded more than 1000 virus cases.
The new cases, detected from 67,312 test results processed on Saturday, bring the total number of active infections to 11,393.
There are 310 Victorians battling COVID-19 in hospital, including 74 in intensive care and 37 on ventilators.
A further 41 people are in ICU but their infections are no longer considered active.
The two deaths bring the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 1416.
About 92 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated.
It comes as the federal government reduced the wait for a COVID-19 booster vaccine from six months after a second vaccination to five, in an effort to slow the spread of the new Omicron variant.
Victorian government minister Richard Wynne welcomed the announcement, which is based on advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
"When your time has come for your third jab, please get it as soon as you possibly can," he told reporters on Sunday.
"We know that from even the early evidence that's been provided that the third jab is quite efficacious in terms of protecting us from this new variant."
There are three confirmed Omicron cases in Victoria - a returned travelled from the Netherlands who is in hotel quarantine and two people who sat together in the same row on a flight that landed in Melbourne from Dubai on 30 November.
A third person who also sat in the row has tested positive for COVID-19 and genomic sequencing is underway to confirm the variant.
Testing is also being conducted in relation to four other passengers on the same flight and three household contacts of a case.
Mr Wynne said he expected a further update on the possible cases later on Sunday.
The new variant, first discovered in South Africa, does not appear to cause more serious illness.
Premier Daniel Andrews has repeatedly maintained the state is not chasing an "Omicron zero strategy", describing it as unachievable.
On Friday, Mr Andrews made a formal pandemic declaration that will apply to the entire state from 11.59pm on Wednesday, when the current state of emergency expires.
It's the first since new public health laws came into effect, allowing the premier to declare a pandemic and health minister to enforce orders such as lockdowns, mask-wearing, vaccination mandates and quarantine.
Protests are expected to gather again outside parliament in response to the new laws and vaccine mandates.
"You have to wonder what people are protesting about I mean, they suggested they protesting about freedom. Well, we're free" Mr Wynne said.
