A Victorian child under 10 with "serious comorbidities" has died after contracting COVID-19, becoming the nation's youngest person to die with the virus.
The state reported 1,166 new infections on Saturday as active cases dived to 9,581, down by about 30 per cent from Friday.
Victoria's health department later confirmed the infected child was among five further deaths and had "other serious comorbidities".
Previously, 15-year-old Osama Suduh from southwest Sydney was the youngest known person in Australia to die with the virus.
The teenager from southwest Sydney died in August after contracting pneumococcal meningitis, and while he was also COVID-positive it was not the reason for his hospitalisation or death.
Victoria is currently managing 9,581 active coronavirus cases in total, down by 4,232 from Friday.
There are 312 virus patients in hospital, 18 fewer than the previous day, with 55 actively infected with COVID-19 in ICU, 59 cleared, and 24 of those on ventilators.
Health authorities say virus testers managed to process 64,050 results in the 24 hours to Saturday.
With almost all remaining restrictions lifted just before midnight on Friday, Victoria is on the cusp of 90 per cent full vaccination in those aged over 12.
Meanwhile, the Victorian government will spend the next week negotiating with crossbenchers to pass its pandemic legislation after days of protests on parliament's front steps.
NSW has again recorded no new coronavirus deaths, as vaccination rates continue to climb and hospitalisation rates fall.
Some 182 new cases were reported on Saturday, 34 less than the number reported on Friday.
The number of people seriously ill with the virus continues to dwindle, with 191 people hospitalised with the virus, 28 of them in intensive care.
Meanwhile, the state is inching closer to the 95 per cent mark for first dose vaccinations, with 94.3 per cent of residents over 16 having stepped forward for at least one jab and 91.7 per cent two doses.
Of the 12- to 15-year-old age group, 74.9 per cent are fully vaccinated and 80.9 per cent have received at least one vaccine.
It comes as a senior government minister suggested QR codes could soon be retired in lower-risk settings like coffee shops and shopping centres.
"If the vaccination rates maintain a high trajectory and we see lower case numbers, we can retire them in low risk settings but as we've seen in Europe you might need to turn them back on," Mr Dominello told ABC Radio on Friday morning.
"A high risk setting would be going into a retirement village or a nursing home where clearly there will be a need for check-ins for not just the immediate future but the foreseeable future."
The government is also considering requirements for close contacts of COVID-19 cases, to avoid schools opening and closing.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the crisis cabinet - now called the COVID Economic Recovery Committee - will review the issue next week.
"There will be positive cases in schools, but we don't want to close them for a substantial period of time," he said on Friday.
"I don't want kids sitting at home. I want them in the classroom."
