Victoria will welcome the first cohort of unvaccinated international travellers to its newly-built $200 million quarantine hub within days.
The Victorian Quarantine Hub, which will replace hotels and become the state's only quarantine site from April, will officially open to residents on Monday.
Police Minister Lisa Neville and COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar toured the facility, which is located at Mickleham in Melbourne's north, on Saturday.
"The Omicron variant has shown us we must continue to be flexible in our pandemic response - and the purpose-built Victorian Quarantine Hub will be vital to how we manage pandemics today and into the future," Ms Neville said.
Ms Cassar said the hub's open-air setting would "eliminate" many of the challenges hotel quarantine posed.
The site can accommodate up to 1,000 residents at any one time with standalone cabins allowing for constant fresh air flow, individual ventilation systems and CCTV monitoring.
Guests will be given access to in-house electronic food ordering and entertainment to minimise contact between residents and the site's 560 staff.
The hub's cabin-style accommodation includes entry and exit points via outdoor decks to prevent the virus spreading through shared corridors.
The site is split into four villages, with all services and amenities delivered directly onside to limit unnecessary internal or external movement.
Staff are being trained on-site, with other final preparations underway including stress-testing all systems to ensure infection prevention and control processes are in place before residents arrive.
Victoria reported another 20 virus-related deaths on Saturday and 6280 fresh infections, including 4214 from rapid antigen tests and 2066 from PCRs.
There are 48,420 total active COVID-19 cases and 365 patients in hospital, of whom 55 are being treated in intensive care and 13 are on ventilators.
Meanwhile, Victorians spent the night dancing at nightclubs and other venues, following the easing of restrictions on Friday.
Indoor dance floors have reopened and density limits at hospitality and entertainment venues were scrapped.
QR code check-in requirements are no longer in place at retail venues or schools but will remain in hospitality and entertainment settings.
Premier Daniel Andrews flagged more changes next week, with the health minister to consider easing rules around masks and working from home.
