Victoria’s COVID ordeal refuses to ease, with daily COVID-19 cases stubbornly refusing to drop below four figures.

The state recorded 1252 COVID-19 cases on Friday – slightly down on the previous day’s tally of 1362  – and five deaths, bringing the total number of Victorian lives lost to 1318.

The figures, confirmed by the health department on Saturday, bring the total number of active infections in the state to 11,257.

There are 299 Victorians battling the virus in hospital, bringing the seven-day average down to 301, including 90 in intensive care and 22 on a ventilator.

There were 57,292 tests processed in Victoria on Friday and 4938 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered at state-run hubs, which are beginning to wind down now Victoria has reached 90 per cent double dose vaccination coverage for those aged above 12.

Landmark sites at the Royal Exhibition Building and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will deliver their last jabs in mid-December, along with Box Hill Town Hall.

Other clinics at Eastland shopping centre and Wyndham’s Eagle Stadium are scheduled to shut at the end of the week, followed by St Vincent’s Private in Werribee, the Melbourne Showgrounds and the Olivia Newton-John centre next to Austin Hospital.

State-run hubs have been the engine room of Victoria’s vaccination push since first opening in March, delivering about half of the state’s 10.6 million doses.

Fifteen metro and regional sites will remain open into next year to administer booster shots and potentially first and second doses to five to 11-year-old children, if and when a COVID-19 vaccine is approved by federal regulators.

-AAP