He said areas around Melbourne should be under "high levels of surveillance" and drive-through testing sites should be placed at the checkpoints bordering regional Victoria.
"You can never do too much testing," he said. "In order to prevent it leaking from Melbourne, we’re going to have to think carefully about further strategies."
Soldiers assist police at a checkpoint near Geelong. Credit:Jason South
Coronavirus infections remain low in regional Victoria, but cases are spreading to more communities. Testing at checkpoints would allow people in cars to be swabbed while waiting to pass through.
But Associate Professor Rait said it should not be mandatory.
"It’s better to have the co-operation of the community and get them to see the worth of what’s required."
Asked if there were plans to set up testing at checkpoints around Melbourne, Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there were already many testing spots in regional Victoria.
"I would encourage regional areas to have an awareness that they also need to test in exactly the same way if they’ve got compatible symptoms of coronavirus," he said.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says authorities were expecting "some seeding of regional areas".Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui
Professor Sutton said health authorities were identifying cases in regional Victoria and many had links back to Melbourne.
"That’s not unexpected and we knew that there would be some seeding of regional areas. We need to follow those cases.
"That will be more manageable by virtue of the numbers, but we are particularly focused on them so that we can make sure there isn’t community transmission that gets established in any regional area of Victoria."
Last week Professor Sutton said the situation in Geelong was being reviewed daily and he urged its residents to take extra precautions, particularly if travelling to coronavirus hotspots in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Greater Geelong has the highest number of cases in regional Victoria, with five active infections, while Greater Bendigo has three.
Infections have been spreading, with South Gippsland recording a single positive case on Saturday. By Sunday Baw Baw had three active cases and Greater Shepparton increased from one to two cases.
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Bass Coast recorded two new cases on Sunday, while Warrnambool, Swan Hill, Campaspe, Macedon Ranges and Moorabool Shire each had a single new case.
On Saturday Coles revealed a worker at a supermarket in Woodend was self-isolating after testing positive.
The company said the store had been cleared to trade but several staff members who were close contacts of the positive case had been asked to self-isolate.
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Benjamin is a state political reporter
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2020-07-12 09:30:00Z
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