Victoria s coronavirus lockdown is unnecessary because there are no mystery cases and could have been avoided if the state government had set up a universal QR code check-in system, a diseases expert has told Daily Mail Australia.
Seven million Victorians are being ordered to stay at home in a circuit-breaker lockdown that started on Friday morning as an outbreak in Melbourne grew to 30 cases of the Indian variant of the disease.
But Professor Peter Collignon, of the Australian National University, said short lockdowns impose huge costs and do not help stop the spread of the virus as long as cases and contacts are isolated by a good tracing system.
Five Melbourne bars have emerged as key Covid exposure sites but authorities are having difficulty tracing contacts due to people not checking in to venues.
People queue for a Covid-19 test in Melbourne on May 27, 2021.
Photo: AFP / William West
Acting Premier James Merlino said the four new cases were all linked to this week s outbreak in Melbourne s north, which has grown to 30 cases.
Merlino has asked the Commonwealth for 160 Australian Defence Force staff to help with door-to-door visits as health officials monitor close contacts and cases.
Victoria Covid-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar said authorities were particularly concerned about the potential spread of the virus at five exposure sites:
The Sporting Globe at 590 Main Street, Mordialloc between 6.15pm and 9.45pm on Sunday, 23 May
Three Monkeys Bar at 210 Chapel Street, Prahran between 9.10pm and 11pm on Saturday, 22 May