The push for tougher measures comes after Victoria recorded its worst increase in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, with 532 infections and six deaths.
Associate Professor Julian Rait said the surge in cases meant there were going to be “many more deaths” to come.
“We saw a few weeks ago on July 17 after we had about 10 days or so of lockdown measures that the epidemic curve really wasn’t flattening as it should,” Prof Rait told 3AW.
“We felt at that stage we would obviously need to extend the lockdown we also made the point that a firmer lockdown might be more efficacious but might also provide a shorter way out of this.”
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The president of the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association has called on the government to move to stage four lockdown restrictions.
The push for tougher measures comes after Victoria recorded its worst increase in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, with 532 infections and six deaths.
Associate Professor Julian Rait said the surge in cases meant there were going to be "many more deaths" to come.
"We saw a few weeks ago on July 17 after we had about 10 days or so of lockdown measures that the epidemic curve really wasn’t flattening as it should," Prof Rait told 3AW's Tom Elliott.
"We felt at that stage we would obviously need to extend the lockdown we also made the point that a firmer lockdown might be more efficacious but might also provide a shorter way out of this."
Prof Rait said a New Zealand-style lockdown would be the best way for Victoria to get case numbers down quickly.
"What New Zealand did for a month is that they closed pretty much all businesses other than pharmacies, medical clinics, grocery stores, petrol stations and really curtailed a lot of retail shopping and a lot of businesses," he said.
"That’s the model that I would look to and clearly they were able to achieve elimination through that with a month of such measures.
"I am not suggesting that is necessarily possible now in Victoria with the number of cases but I would suggest that stronger measures for a shorter period might be a preferable strategy to months and months of what we have got at the moment."
The AMA Victoria president said he didn't "underestimate" the economic cost of such measures but that the health system and wider community needed to be better protected.
He said he was "very concerned" about Monday's case numbers and pointed out the alarming rise the state has seen in the last few weeks.
"On July 3 we had 66 cases, July 10 we had 288, July 17 we had 428, July 26 we had 459 and today we have 532," he told the radio show.
"The seven day moving average appears to be rising, although perhaps not as quickly as it did at first.
"If that trend continues I think we have a significant problem and that’s why I think we need to consider other options given that so far we are not quite seeing the response we expected."
Prof Rait said there are "possibly 2500 cases in the pipeline" and that around 20 per cent of those cases would need hospitalisation and then maybe 100 of those would need intensive care.
Regional Victorians have claimed they have been forced to wait more than a week to receive COVID-19 test results.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) website states it usually takes between one and three days for test results to be returned.
But an email shared by Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell from a Victorian business owner shows some residents are having to wait a lot longer.
The small business owner in the town of Colac wrote to local state MP Richard Riordan explaining that when the outbreak first hit they and one of their workers both got tested for COVID-19.
Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
“We thought we would do the right thing by everyone, due to our exposure to a vast number of people in the community and we got tested," the email read.
“To eliminate ourselves as potential carriers, we tested straight away on Saturday the 18th July.
“We are still waiting on our results 9 days later. . . I have heard of numerous cases like ourselves.”
Mr Clennell called on Premier Daniel Andrews to explain the different in wait times between Victoria and NSW.
"In NSW, where they have been doing 10,000-plus tests a day and up to 30,000 on occasion a day, the average wait for test results, I am reliably told, is 24 hours,” Mr Clennell said.
“Daniel Andrews needs to explain why it takes nine days to get a rest result back in regional Victoria and one day in regional New South Wales."
Four COVID-19 cases have been linked to a neonatal intensive care unit at Melbourne's Royal Children’s Hospital.
Two parents, one patients and a healthcare worker have been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
All of the children in the unit, parents, and staff who spent more than two hours in the ward since July 12 will undergo COVID-19 tests.
Deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd has explained why New South Wales seems to be more successful in containing community transmission than Victoria.
"We are seeing smaller numbers in New South Wales each day," Prof Kidd said.
"Each of those cases is being followed up very quickly, and their contacts are being followed up very quickly and being tested."
NSW has also required people who attended a number of facilities linked to the virus to immediately be tested and isolate for 14 days regardless if the test result comes back negative.
Prof Kidd said this helps "prevent further possible transmission to other people occurring within Sydney and other parts of the state'.
"It is very important that we follow up the contacts of every single new case of COVID-19," he said.
Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd said the government is "very concerned" about Victoria's virus outbreak, particularly the increasing cases in aged care facilities.
The number of cases in Victoria's aged care sector is now over 600, with both residents and staff included in the numbers.
"Community transmission continues to drive the cases that we are seeing among aged care staff. 5% of all cases of COVID-19 in Victoria since April have been among the residents of aged care facilities," Prof Kidd said.
"And 4% of all cases in Victoria since April have been among the staff working in aged care."
Australia has recorded its biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 549 new infections.
The previous highest increase was 502, which was recorded five days ago.
Today's record number of cases is made up of 532 infections in Victoria and 17 in NSW.
Deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd said the high number of new infections means that there will be "many" more deaths in the coming days.
"The tragedy of COVID-19 is that we know with the number of new infections that we have seen today, that there will be many further deaths in the days ahead," he said on Monday.
In the past seven days 2884 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Australia.
There are now 259 people in hospital, with 49 of those in intensive care.
"The rising hospital numbers, the rise in people in intensive care is a continuing reminder of the very serious impact that COVID-19 on the lives and health of many people," Prof Kidd said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is planning a trip to the US despite the country's alarming growth in COVID-19 numbers.
Mr Morrison said his plans to visit Washington for the upcoming G7 summit.
"I intend to visit Washington myself should the G7+ meeting go ahead," he told reporters on Monday.
"These are important opportunities for Australia – it would be extraordinary if we didn't seek to attend these meetings.
"Our alliance with the United States is the bedrock of Australia's defence strategy, so it would be highly irregular for us not to seek to take every opportunity for those meetings to be held face-to-face."
His comments come as Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Foreign Minister Marise Payne left for the US on Sunday to attend a series of meetings with US officials, including Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
They are the first ministers to leave Australia since the international travel ban was put in place.
Picture: Damian Shaw/NCA NewsWire
The Northern Territory border will now be closed to anyone travelling from Greater Sydney for at least another four weeks.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the level of community transmission in the New South Wales capital was concerning enough to justify the call.
“For anybody who does come, they know what's waiting for them – two weeks in a supervised facility and a bill for $2500,” Mr Gunner said.
“The outbreaks of concern are confined to Sydney and appear well-managed, but are still growing. There is still community transmission which means Sydney will present the threat for the foreseeable future.”
A large group of conspiracy theorist have gathered in Melbourne, with a woman who filmed herself driving through a police checkpoint as a key speaker.
Eve Black, who calls the pandemic a “SCAMdemic” on social media and uploaded a video of her interaction with officers at a lockdown checkpoint last week — drawing widespread criticism.
She spoke at a large conspiracy theory gathering at a Cranbourne gym.
One attendee posted a photo of the meeting on Facebook which showed the group were not social distancing or wearing masks.
He wrote; “A great night together discussing the putrid conduct of the police, government and media lies.”
“We are strong and won’t bow down to these oppressors,” he said.
“Eve Black thank you for sharing your experience with us and how the Mainstream Media created a work of fiction. With their slanderous narrative to demonise you, a true libertarian.
"God bless the righteous and give them power to prevail.”
Ms Black responded: “Thank you for having me there. It was so amazing to be in a room full of people who support and celebrate me during this tough time.”
Police have fined 10 people for attending a church as part of 152 fines issued in the past 24 hours for alleged coronavirus breaches.
Attending a place of worship is not one of the four permitted reasons that people in the greater Melbourne lockdown zone are allowed to leave their home.
The fines also included 23 people who were fined $200 for failing to wear a face covering outside their home in greater Melbourne or the Mitchell shire.
Police also issued fines for “multiple gatherings and parties at short-term rental accommodation in Melbourne’s CBD”.
Police said they conducted 12,283 vehicle checks and 4,073 spot checks on people in their homes, business, or out in public in the past 24 hours.
Deputy police commissioner, Rick Nugent, also commented on the woman known as "Bunnings Karen".
"Victoria Police is aware of a number of incidents over the weekend where people have deliberately breached the Chief Health Officer directions and are not wearing face coverings," he said.
"Thankfully this selfish behaviour is an exception and the vast majority of people are doing the right thing to protect the health and safety of our community.
"However, the behaviour of those who blatantly choose to disregard the rules on the insistence their human rights being breached is alarming.
"Worse yet, it seems these people are more interested in notoriety and getting likes on social media than the health and wellbeing of their fellow Victorians.
"My message to anyone planning to break the rules is simple: no one has a human right to infect other people and place the entire Victoria community at risk.
"In fact, this type of behaviour is childish and is completely unacceptable when police are working incredibly hard to keep the community safe. Victoria Police will continue to use the powers available to them under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 to enforce the Chief Health Officer directions.
"We will not hesitate to issue $200 fines to people who are obviously and blatantly failing to wear a face covering without a valid reason, such as a medical condition."
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2020-07-27 08:37:30Z
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