Household members of primary close contacts will no longer be required to isolate in regional Victoria.
Family members of those who were deemed tier one, primary close contacts in Wodonga and Wangaratta have been required to isolate too.
For any still yet to be released, text messages will come through advising of the new DHHS approach.
Department of health deputy secretary Kate Matson said anyone who was symptomatic should still be getting tested.
"In the environment of rising case numbers, we will always be focusing our efforts on the highest priorities ... we will continue to contact and isolate every single confirmed case and connect them to the support they need," she said.
"We will continue to notify primary close contacts who have come in contact with a confirmed case.
"We have been looking at the role of secondary close contacts. They've been able to help us remain at COVID zero throughout most of 2021.
"However, in this environment, we will no longer be actively managing secondary close contacts.
"This has been effective in Melbourne for a while but effectively now this will be occurring statewide.
"This is good news for people who are isolating as primary close contact, because their household members do not need to isolate with them and they'll be able to easily get the support they need like groceries and where applicable, go to work."
A text message will be sent to 16,000 secondary close contacts this weekend to advise them to release them from quarantine.
"This just recognises the changing risk and the changing environment," Ms Matson said.
"We're in we're no longer chasing COVID zero in Victoria and we have 17,000 active cases in Victoria at this point in time.
"If I had been deemed for instance, a primary close contact, those people who live with me and those people who might have engaged with me for instance, even work colleagues, might have been doing secondary close contacts if it related to the right period of exposure.
"Now, those people who live with me would be free to go about their business provided of course that I don't develop symptoms and become a confirmed case.
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"We want to really dedicate our resources."
Ms Matson said COVID cases - increased by 1956 today - and hospitalisation rates were still at anticipated levels with health modelling.
The Victorian government announced $15 million in new support for the Victorian arts and creative sector.
