MILDURA has recorded almost 1000 new COVID-19 cases in the two weeks since Easter Saturday.

Health experts had predicted a surge in post-Easter COVID cases with more family gatherings and more people travelling during the Easter school holiday break.

The increase in case numbers in the Mildura local government area comes as schoolchildren returned to class this week without the mask mandate for students in Years 3 to 6.

The Victorian Government removed most COVID-19 restrictions from midnight on April 22 as the peak of the Omicron wave was beginning to subside, with almost 70 per cent of adults having had a third vaccine dose.

Huge crowds attended Mildura's Easter Powersports weekend and other planned activities in the region and most accommodation houses were booked out over the long weekend and beyond.

The total of COVID-19 cases detected in the Mildura LGA has risen from 11,510 to 12,444 in the 14 days since Easter – an increase of 934 over 14 days.

On Friday there were 463 active cases in Mildura, an increase of 72 from the previous 24-hour period.

Healthdirect chief medical officer Dr Nirvana Luckraj said the Easter school holidays were a time when many people were planning to travel for the first time in two years, both locally and overseas.

She said travelling while COVID-19 was still present in the community would present some extra challenges.

In regional Victoria, Horsham, West Wimmera, Wodonga, Hindmarsh and Greater Bendigo had the highest rates of COVID per 100,000 population at 1230, 1198, 1088, 1038 and 1028 respectively.

On Friday Mildura's case numbers were 830 per 100,000 people.