Brett Sutton's most controversial Covid calls in Victoria

Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton was responsible for some of the toughest restrictions imposed on Melburnians. Here’s five of his most dramatic.

Victoria’s chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton has resigned. Picture: Ian Currie

Brett Sutton has resigned as Victoria’s chief health officer after four years in the job.

He became the face of the state’s Covid pandemic, responsible for some of the toughest restrictions imposed on Melburnians.

Here are Professor Sutton’s most controversial calls.

Hard lockdown of public housing towers

In July 2020, thousands of public housing tower residents were forced into a sudden lockdown in Flemington and North Melbourne.

The restriction was intended to stop an outbreak in nine towers at the height of the second Covid wave.

Residents said they were wrongly detained for up to 14 days with police surrounding the buildings and temporary fences set up.

Almost two years later, the Victorian government settled a class action and residents were collectively offered a $5m payout.

Police and ADF stop vehicles travelling out of Melbourne at the police checkpoint near Little River in Melbourne in 2020. Picture: Daniel Pockett

Introduction of the ‘ring of steel’

Melburnians and regional Victorians were separated by the ‘ring of steel’ – strict highway checkpoints manned by Victoria Police.

The roadblock was imposed to prevent people from entering the regions without exemptions, aimed at protecting towns from Covid outbreaks.

Later, whopping fines of $4957 were issued to Melburnians ignoring the rules.

Police association secretary Wayne Gatt said the checkpoints were flawed and plagued by loopholes.

Night curfew

A night curfew was imposed on Victorians where they were forced to stay at home from 8pm to 5am in August 2020.

Anyone found outside for an unapproved reason was fined $1652.

The curfew was introduced to stop people gathering in large numbers inside homes, where social distancing could not be done.

Joanna and Peter Samargis with their daughter Sophia, 12 at their local park in Hughesdale, upset about playground closures. Picture: David Geraghty

Closure of playgrounds

Playgrounds, skate parks and basketball courts were dramatically taped off across the state in August 2021.

It left children, parents and some medical experts outraged.

At the time, University of Sydney infectious diseases paediatrician Professor Robert Booy said playgrounds were unlikely places for transmission.

Epidemiologist Professor Ivo Mueller said it would have huge impacts on children’s health.

“Closing them … has very significant effects on the health of both children and their parents, in particular those living in small apartments and townhouses without access to a private, open backyard,” he said.

“For these families, access to parks and playgrounds for their two hours of outdoor exercise a day is essential for both their mental and physical health.”

Snap New Year’s Eve border closure

Travel plans were ruined when the state shut its border to NSW on New Year’s Eve in 2020.

Victorians were forced to make last minute arrangements to come home before 11.59pm otherwise they would need to go into hotel quarantine.

At the time, hotel quarantine was designed to cater for Australians returning from long periods overseas, not those on interstate holidays.

The restriction was imposed due to a NSW-linked outbreak in Melbourne that grew to eight cases.

Originally published as Brett Sutton's most controversial Covid calls in Victoria