Is this Victoria’s second wave? Virus experts on high alert

Experts are on high alert to monitor whether Victoria’s recent spike in coronavirus cases will turn into a second wave.

It comes after 18 new cases of the illness were recorded yesterday, including a third Black Lives Matter protester.

Only six of those cases were returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

DAILY CASES THE LAST 10 DAYS
June 10 – 4 cases
June 11 – 8
June 12 – 4
June 13 – 8
June 14 – 9
June 15 – 12
June 16 – 9
June 17 – 21
June 18 – 18
June 19 – 13

“I think what we’re worried about is that we’ve still got the virus circulating in the community,” Professor Catherine Bennett, epidemiology chair at Deakin University, told Ross and John.

“As we start to relax our restrictions, the real worry with this particular virus and the way it moves through communities, is we could see those clusters appearing again as people begin to relax.”

She joined Ross and John in saying gatherings such as the Black Lives Matter protest are simply inappropriate from a health safety perspective.

“I just think it’s not the time to have mass protests,” she said.

“You’ve got the cause, but that’s not the way to do in in this precarious time.”

Click PLAY for the full interview