Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says the lockdown’s ongoing toll on children is “heartbreaking”, as mystery COVID-19 cases threaten to further extend the shutdown.
Professor Sutton said he considers the social impacts of lockdowns when providing health advice to the state government, including keeping children out of school and away from their friends.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he told 3AW of having to explain that fact to his own three young children.
“But, again, what alternative pathway have we got available to us? Because we know what happens when restrictions are not done in a timely way or are not sufficient to control transmission – it explodes in numbers.”
Melbourne is into the second week of its sixth lockdown, brought on to contain several Delta variant outbreaks.
But contact tracers are racing to discover the source of concerning mystery cases, with 13 emerging in the past three days.
Of the 15 locally acquired coronavirus cases reported on Friday, the origin of four was under investigation and seven were out in the community while infectious.
Professor Adrian Esterman, an epidemiologist and biostatistician at the University of South Australia, believes Melbourne will get on top of its Delta variant outbreaks, but not by August 19 when the lockdown is due to end.
“I would say it’s highly unlikely,” he told AAP.
“I don’t think that lockdown will finish … until you’re in single digits and have no mystery cases.”
Unexpected wastewater detections have also arisen in the regional areas of Shepparton and Lakes Entrance, where there are no known active cases or current exposure sites.
There are now more than 420 exposure sites across Melbourne and its urban fringe, including the South Melbourne Market, an autism services provider in Bundoora and several supermarkets.
Professor Sutton expects the list will grow over the coming 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the Victorian government has set an ambitious target of one million COVID-19 vaccine doses in five weeks, and will open up access to the AstraZeneca vaccine at all 50 state vaccination hubs to help reach the goal.
AAP
