Victoria has recorded its highest daily figure of COVID-19 cases, raising questions about the effectiveness of the lockdown.
Professor John Mathews, an epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne, told SBS News that cases have continued to climb because the city's second wave is very different from its first.
"With the first wave, we knew that the cases were coming in on overseas airline arrivals or on cruise ships, so we were able to keep that under control with contact tracing more easily," he said.A tram passenger wearing a mask in Melbourne."It's very predictable what's happened. It just needed a few cases that weren't prevented. They silently seeded in the suburbs in Melbourne and that has led to a very difficult situation to control.
"People are not hearing about test results as quickly as they hoped and they're not sure precisely what they should do." He said this was all compounded by general"lockdown fatigue" from Victorians – creating a perfect storm for a growth in cases.Under the current lockdown, people can leave the house for a number of reasons including exercise, care duties, shopping for essentials and work that cannot be done from home.
As the definition of"essential work" remains broad and the decision is left up to individuals, many Melburnians are still going to their places of work. This has meant there continues to be significant movement of people around the city.Under Stay at Home directions there are only 4 reason to leave the house. If you're thinking of heading out for another reason, do the right thing – protect yourself and others by staying home.
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