Victoria has reported another 1419 COVID infections and 10 deaths, as the state health minister confirms there are still no confirmed Omicron cases in the state.

The health department on Thursday said the state was managing 12,728 active infections.

Health Minister Martin Foley said on Thursday there were still no confirmed cases of the new Omicron variant in Victoria.

“It might well be ticking along out there at the moment but there’s been no case reported so far,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised given the arrangements that we’ve seen in NSW and around the globe.”

Hospitalisations have continued to fall in Victoria, dropping by 11 patients in Thursday’s figures, with 288 patients now in hospital. They include 41 in intensive care and 20 requiring ventilation.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the continuing fall in hospitalisations was more relevant than the spike in case numbers.

“Those numbers are less relevant today than they’ve ever been,” he said on Thursday.

“Of course there is a conversion of total cases to total hospital admissions, but the trend – we’re seeing less and less people in hospital – is really important.”

Mr Andrews said reports of retail staff being abused while scanning vaccination certificates, including a Dymocks employee who was thrown down an escalator, were “cowardly and shameful”.

“No one should be treated that way, we send our best wishes to that member of staff,” he said.

“They’re just doing their job. I expect police to throw the book at anyone behaving that way.”

Virus testers processed 70,343 results on Wednesday, while 4019 people were vaccinated in state-run hubs.