Elimination of Covid-19 has been found to have been achievable in Victoria within six weeks had the state gone into stage-four lockdown with mandatory wearing of masks – but without curfews or 5km travel restrictions – immediately from 9 July, when there were 860 active cases of the virus in the state.
The modelling analysis published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) on Monday also says it was a missed opportunity that “an expert advisory group on elimination was not convened, limiting the capacity for an optimal evidence-informed policy responseâ€.
From 9 July, metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell shire re-entered stage-three lockdown. Victorians were told the measures would last six weeks. However, a more stringent stage-four lockdown was introduced to metropolitan Melbourne on 2 August, when department and hardware stores were closed, and curfew, travel limits and outdoor exercise limits were introduced. Regional Victoria joined the Mitchell shire in stage-three lockdown from 6 August. Masks were made mandatory in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell shire from 22 July, and in regional Victoria from 3 August.
