Victorian health minister Martin Foley has hosed down the idea of tensions with NSW over a lack of willingness to redirect vaccines to Sydney's virus-ridden suburbs.
Praising Victoria's "encouraging" downwards trend in COVID-19 cases on Saturday, Mr Foley said his and other states had "legitimate demands" on scarce vaccines for July and August which had already been allocated to them based on population.
He welcomed recent reports of spare Pfizer doses in the national stockpile and said he'd be happy for those to be sent to NSW.
Mr Foley's comments followed NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard's show of frustration just minutes earlier, in appealing for other states' help to get more Pfizer doses into the arms of young Sydneysiders.
"I want to remind those other states and territories that last time I looked, we were a 'Common-wealth', we work together," he said.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said Victoria would have to balance its own risk in determining whether to give away vaccines.
"It's clear that the higher the proportion of the Victorian population that gets vaccinated ... ultimately it minimises our risk of being hospitalised and dying," he said.
Prof Sutton said Victoria was "on track" for an easing of restrictions on Tuesday, as scheduled, but would not yet commit to it.
He introduced a new travel designation for NSW late Friday, making the whole state an "extreme risk zone", backdated to 9 July.
This will make it difficult for Victorians in NSW to come home, unless they get a rare exemption or have a Specified Worker Permit.
"It's very strict in terms of the movement of people across the border," Prof Sutton said.
Mr Foley was adamant the new risk designation of NSW was not related to Premier Daniel Andrews' unsuccessful pitch for a "ring of steel" police blockade around Sydney but the natural progression of authorities' attempts to protect the state against infection.
Red zone designations still apply to the ACT, South Australia and Norfolk Island.
Victorians who have been in NSW in the past 14 days and are wishing to return home can only do so with an exemption or other valid permit, such as a Specified Worker Permit.
Red zone designations still apply to the ACT, South Australia and Norfolk Island.
The order follows Premier Daniel Andrews' unsuccessful pitch at national cabinet on Friday to put a "ring of steel" around Sydney.
The concept, involving a police guard around the city to stop anyone leaving, was used during Melbourne's lengthy second lockdown in 2020, in order to protect regional areas and other states from infection.
However after the national cabinet meeting Prime Minister Scott Morrison argued such a strategy was unnecessary because stay-at-home rules were enough to rein in the virus.
Victoria recorded 12 new locally acquired COVID-19 infections on Saturday, 10 of which were in quarantine throughout their entire infectious period. All infections are linked to current outbreaks.
The figures continue the state's encouraging downward trend in new diagnoses - having recorded 14 cases on Friday and 26 on Thursday.
The numbers come with 19,281 vaccine doses administered in the past 24 hours in Victoria and 39,846 COVID tests conducted.
Victoria's current set of restrictions - its fifth lockdown - are scheduled to be eased on 27 July but Mr Andrews says health authorities want more data before making a decision.
Meanwhile, police are preparing to deal with an anti-lockdown protest planned for Melbourne on Saturday and are concerned it could thwart the state's efforts to emerge from restrictions.
A rally involving a few hundred people could involve flares and the blocking of an inner-city bridge, Chief Commissioner of Police Shane Patton said on Friday.
"Where you have the vast majority of Victorians doing the right thing, sitting at home, it's such a sense of entitlement to say 'I can go out and protest just because I disagree' and potentially breach all of the CHO guidelines and spread the virus," he told 3AW.
Mr Andrews labelled the idea of protesting lockdown "ridiculous".
"Protest against this virus by staying at home, following the rules and getting out of lockdown," he said.
