Why an epidemiologist thinks the current COVID-19 situation in Victoria is ‘quite amazing’

An epidemiologist says it’s “quite amazing” that Victoria has managed to drive its current COVID-19 outbreak down to the numbers now seen.

Epidemiologist and head of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at Melbourne University, Professor Nancy Baxter, says she “didn’t expect things to track so well with Delta”.

“It’s really quite amazing that they were able to get on top of this,” she told Ross and Russel.

“With the previous variants of COVID … you would, on average, turn positive in three to five days. Now, with this Delta variant, people are turning positive in as little as 30 hours and giving it to someone else.”

With restrictions in Victoria expected to ease on Tuesday night, Professor Baxter says getting kids back in the classroom is the “the most important thing”.

She expects people will continue to be asked to work from home if they can, masks will remain mandatory indoors, and strict caps on visitors to the home will continue.

Press PLAY below to hear more about the restrictions Professor Baxter expects to see eased