Terrifying graph shows the dreaded second wave of coronavirus hitting Victoria

The Victorian government is considering fresh lockdown measures as the state is swamped by a second wave of coronavirus. 

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton today said he would recommend ‘anything necessary’ to stop the spread after 75 new cases were reported on Monday.

The last time Victoria recorded that many cases was on 31 March when 96 new patients tested positive. 

The state’s highest new daily case number came on 28 March when 111 cases were reported. That day was the peak of the pandemic in Australia with 460 new cases nationwide.  

Professor Sutton warned that ‘things will get worse before they better’ and said the government was planning new rules to limit the spread.  

But measures would be different to the sweeping shut downs initially imposed in March when the first wave of the virus hit.

Shops, restaurants and bars, which only re-opened this month, would not have to close again because their COVID-safe plans including social distancing mean the risk of transmission is well-managed, Professor Sutton said.

Instead, any new rules would focus on limiting the number of people that residents can interact with.

This is because most of the recent transmission has been happening at family gatherings. 

Under current rules, Victorians are allowed five visitors in their home at once and can meet in public in groups of 10 – but these limits could be revised down.  

Professor Sutton also said the government is looking at ways to encourage people to stay at home if they get flu-like symptoms or if they have tested positive for the virus.

He said too many people were failing to self-isolate after police caught 13 people breaking quarantine orders last Monday.

‘What we are seeing is transmission across settings because people are still going out with symptoms,’ Professor Sutton said.

‘Outbreaks are occurring across multiple households, across work and other settings.’  

One option would be to copy the system used in Taiwan where a person in self-isolation gets a daily phone call to check they are at home. If they do not answer, they are tracked down and fined. 

Professor Sutton also said the government was considering locking down entire suburbs which have outbreaks, although he admitted this would be a logistical challenge. 

‘We don’t want to drive people out of suburban areas, into new, unaffected areas. So there is a balancing act in terms of making the call on a lockdown,’ he said. 

‘But it is absolutely an option and we flagged the possibility of using it and we will use it, if it is required.’  

On Sunday the government extended the quarantine time for returned travellers from 14 days to 24 days if they refuse to get tested after it was revealed that 30 per cent were being let out without a swab. 

After Monday’s case count, Professor Sutton said this second wave is ‘as big as the first’. Predicting further increases in the days ahead, he said: ‘Things are going to get worse before they get better.’ 

Of the new cases recorded on Sunday, only one is a traveller in hotel quarantine, 14 are linked to known outbreaks and 37 were picked up through a testing blitz of ten ‘hotspot’ Melbourne suburbs launched over the weekend.

Twenty-three cases are still being investigated and six are believed to be from unknown community transmission. 

Health minister Jenny Mikakos said most of the new patients had caught the virus at family gatherings. 

‘Obviously we’re concerned by the increase in number,’ she said. 

Three of the new cases are security guards who worked at the Stamford Plaza hotel which suffered an outbreak last week.

One is a healthcare worker at Melbourne Clinic in Richmond and another is a cleaner working at the Australian Border Force’s Melbourne Airport office. 

Six schools have been deep-cleaned after pupils caught the virus. Professor Sutton said the recent cases transmitted in the past five or six days. 

Around a third of the new patients are in their 20s and 30s – and Professor Sutton urged young people to observe social distancing. 

‘No one wants to be in the position where you’re killing a family member because you’re not looking after yourself in terms of the risk of transmission,’ he said.

Victoria has recorded double-digit increases in new COVID-19 infections for 12 days running.

There were 41 new cases reported on Saturday and 49 on Sunday. 

On Monday morning New South Wales reported seven new patients, all in hotel quarantine.

Queensland, the ACT, the NT and Tasmania reported no new cases, with South Australia and Western Australia yet to announce their figures.

Professor Sutton said relaxing restrictions was always going to be a risk when the virus is present in the community.

He said the cold weather in Victoria may be a reason why the virus has resurged more than in NSW.

None of the new cases are linked to Black Lives Matter protests which saw 10,000 gather in Melbourne two weeks ago. 

The Victorian government is conducting a testing blitz in an attempt to prevent further spread of the virus, which prioritised the suburbs of Broadmeadows and Keilor Downs at the weekend. About 40,000 people have been tested since Friday.

Eight other suburbs in Melbourne’s west and southeast are next on the list, also identified as having high levels of community transmission.

The government is also imposing mandatory testing on returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine after it was revealed about 30 per cent were refusing to be tested.

Less-invasive saliva tests are also being rolled out in a world-first.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said authorities are keenly watching to see how they work out.

‘The salvia test may be more appropriate for people where swabs are more difficult and that might include young children or very elderly people,’ he said.

He also issued a reminder to all Australians that vigilance, particularly among younger people, is needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

‘Many of the people who have been infected so far in the outbreaks in Melbourne are, well, young people, often with only mild symptoms,’ Professor Kidd said.

‘You may not get sick or very sick… but if you pass the infection onto your parents or your grandparents they could become very unwell, they could even die.’