Premier Daniel Andrews
Premier Daniel Andrews
Premier Daniel Andrews has announced Victoria will not be exiting lockdown at midnight on Tuesday - warning it would bring just a "few days of sunshine" - as the state records 13 locally acquired cases of COVID-19.

"All of them are linked to the current outbreak, so that's 72 active cases in total," Mr Andrews said.

"There are 15,800 primary close contacts who are in quarantine, that are isolating at home or in another place which we have supported them to secure, so that's the best part of 16,000 who, to protect all of us, are staying at home.


Comment: Meanwhile a number of other countries declared months ago that they would have to 'learn to live with' the now endemic, and still relatively harmless, coronavirus. Why is Australia enforcing such extreme measures when clearly they do not achieve their stated goal, and worse, they provably cause more suffering and even death? US infants struck by winter virus in summer after lockdowns disrupt immunity & transmission


"There were just under 55,000 tests, the results of which were received and are in these numbers."

Mr Andrews said the state's progress in avoiding "thousands of cases" justified Victoria's five-day lockdown as the "right course".

"We will not be ready to lift this lockdown at midnight tomorrow night," he said.

"Knowing what we know now, having seen what's unfolded during this lockdown, these last few days, we know that if we had been open then we would be just like Sydney - we would have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of cases.


Comment: These are 'cases', not hospitalisations nor deaths. And the tests themselves aren't reliable so even that metric is up for debate.


"And we would not be looking at a short lockdown, we would be looking at something entirely different.


Comment: Such as? Do the people of Victoria agree? The implication above is that citizens do not have a say in what they think would be a measured response to the situation.


"This lockdown will be on only for as long as it needs to be."

Mr Andrews wished NSW well in combating the COVID-19 outbreak as a problem in the state creates an "ongoing challenge for all of us".