Victoria has absolutely reached a tipping point on the virus.
We will know in three to four weeks where this will land.
This is the clear message of health, government and police in the daily briefing, where it was revealed there is a continued spike in transmissions and cases.
The core problem seems to be inter-family transmissions but also growing community fatigue over the virus response.
The government will be drawing on the expertise of the Victorian Multicultural Commissioner to respond to any cohorts that are struggling with the messaging or just simply ignoring it.
“This is a tipping point,’’ Victorian Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said today.
He was referring to both Victoria and many parts of the world, including southern states in the US, South America, South Asia and Europe.
Victoria will not ease its restrictions as it had planned and is now closely examining lockdowns in the worst-affected suburbs.
However, it is quite possible that by this time next month, Victoria will be in a really poor position.
The flow-on effects are national, given that Victoria is roughly 25 per cent of the national economy and even the latest tightening will have a material impact on many businesses.
It’s not hard to see what could happen if there is a genuine second wave both in a medical sense and with the economy.
The positive testing of one AFL player threatens to bring the competition to a halt, which would have a cascading impact across the community regarding the path to economic recovery.
Sport, worth billions to the national economy each year, is just one sector that will be hammered by any second wave.
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