The extension of Melbourne’s lockdown for another week will hit Melburnians so hard because we know what we have to fear. We know our leaders massage our expectations. We’ve seen how a week suddenly becomes a month, and then three.

But while acting Premier James Merlino and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton have been building the justification for an extended lockdown all week – describing the latest virus variant as “a beast” and leaning heavily on what appear to be disputed claims about infectiousness – there’s still precious little about the path out.