Health Minister refuses to rule out another lockdown as he congratulates Victorians

Victoria’s Health Minister has congratulated Victorians for their work driving down coronavirus cases, but he has refused to rule out the possibility of another lockdown if cases surge again.

Mr Foley said there it’s time to reflect on Victoria’s success, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“Victorians should reflect on their huge and great cost … then we should double down… to make sure that we stay safe and stay open for what is going to be a further hard set of efforts,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“We need to make sure that everyone continues to follow the rules. This is not over.

“This might continue for a good twelve months until a vaccine is widely available and distributed.

“Until that time we’re going to have to learn to live with the coronavirus in our community.”

Mr Foley refused to rule out the possibility of a future lockdown if there’s a third wave of COVID-19.

NEIL MITCHELL: “Is there a figure at which you would have to reconsider lockdown?”

MARTIN FOLEY: “It would all depend on the circumstances but there’s no plans to go into lockdown. There are plans to open carefully and safely.”

Mr Foley brushed off suggestions Victoria’s contact tracing system still lags behind other states.

“We’ve improved our contact tracing system every day along the way,” he said.

“We’ve always said there’s always room for improvement.”

Press PLAY below for the full interview.

Image (at top): Darrian Traynor / Getty