The resumption of non-urgent elective surgery is yet to be finalised, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews insists, despite private hospitals being told a ban could be lifted as early as next week.
In a letter to doctors on Tuesday, Ramsay Health Care Victorian manager Austin Wills said the private provider was given advice the state's pause on most elective surgery would soon be repealed.
"At this point, (the Department of Health) have indicated that restrictions will be revised from urgent only to 50 per cent of allocated lists from the middle of next week," he wrote.
"We expect to receive formal confirmation of this change by the end of this week."
Category two and three elective surgery was paused earlier this month before a "code brown" declaration was instituted in hospitals as Victoria's ailing health system prepared for an influx of COVID-19 patients amid the Omicron wave.
While COVID-19 hospitalisations were predicted to peak as high as 2500, numbers dipped below 1000 last week and fell further on Wednesday to 786.
Intensive care figures also dropped by seven to 99 patients, with 31 of those on a ventilator.
Mr Andrews said "no one's rushing" the return of less urgent elective surgery and the state government was still consulting with the industry.
"We think it is possible to resume some services in a staggered way," the premier told reporters on Wednesday.
"We'll make the announcements when we've listened, when we've got all that feedback and we have determined how it is we will recommence those services. Nothing will be done that isn't safe."
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation argues the ban should be maintained to ensure elective surgery patients don't require intensive care and there is adequate surge workforce capacity.
A recent ANMF survey of 50,000 public sector members found almost 40 per cent of nurses and midwives want to take annual leave in February, March and April, and Vic Branch Acting Secretary Paul Gilbert said workers needed time to recharge.
"Don't call nurses and midwives heroes and then treat them like robots," he said.
The ANMF believes expending the pause will give more time for health authorities to gauge if the hospitals peak has passed and the impact of schools reopening.
But opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier says Victorians are languishing in pain on the state's growing elective surgery wait list while some surgeons remain at home.
"Elective surgery should resume today. Not tomorrow, not next week - today," she said.
Victoria recorded another 25 COVID-related deaths and 14,553 new cases on Wednesday, its highest daily infection total in more than a week.
VICTORIA'S LATEST COVID-19 FIGURES:
* PCR tests processed: 35,030
* Positive PCR tests: 7621
* Positive RATs: 6932
* Active cases: 73,886, up 1176
* Vaccine doses administered at state-run sites on Tuesday: 17,644
* Vaccine booster rate for Victorians 18 and over: 40.4 per cent
