Victoria will decide on suburb lockdowns within days as the state confirmed 75 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, pushing contact tracing to the limit and prompting experts to urge tougher measures to allow the rest of Australia's economy to reopen.
It is the first time since March that more than 70 new cases have been recorded in the state in a single day, and Victoria's Chief Medical Officer warned the outbreak "will get worse before it gets better".
Tom Burton has held senior editorial and publishing roles with The Mandarin, The Sydney Morning Herald and as Canberra bureau chief for The Australian Financial Review. He has won three Walkley awards. Connect with Tom on Twitter. Email Tom at tom.burton@afr.com
