“It is simply the case that on the balance of evidence and risk, Victoria is in a sufficiently strong place to replicate that which has occurred in NSW.
“NSW had a rolling average of over 10 cases a day for 24 consecutive days in late July and early August, and yet they were able to manage being predominantly open through a gold standard, world class contact tracing process.â€
Mr Hunt said the Commonwealth chief medical officers requirement to ease restrictions, for under 10 active coronavirus cases, had been met – as well Victoria’s own definition of under a rolling 14 day average of five cases.
Commonwealth support for Victoria, which included support from interstate experts and Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, helped Victoria get up to speed on three key issues, Mr Hunt said.
“One was the localisation of the public health unit and tracing response. Two the full digitalisation, which is in particular where the chief scientist worked and three is in relation to the case management of individuals, as we saw this week in relation to the family in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.â€
