Expert warns of dangers in lifting lockdown restrictions too quickly

GEELONG residents can welcome five guests into their homes, but an expert in disease patterns warns restrictions could be tightened again if there are outbreaks of coronavirus cases.

Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said ensuring more than 40 per cent of the population downloaded the COVIDSafe virus tracing app was vital to further loosening restrictions and paving a path to normality.

“If you compare what we are doing in Australia to overseas, it is really smart avoiding large gatherings any time soon because that has been part of the problem,” Professor Bennett said.

“If you look at South Korea, the resurgence (of coronavirus cases) has come from one person with COVID-19 attending a nightclub.”

She said while the Federal

Government had laid out the path to normality, enforcement would continue to play out differently in each state, depending on local cases.

From Friday up to 10 guests will be allowed at NSW cafes and restaurants, but venues in Victoria remain closed until at least May 31.

Prof Bennett said Victoria’s “slower” approach, combined with a testing blitz, was partly influenced by the case outbreak at Cedar Meats.

“That’s why this staged response, particularly here in Victoria, is still so critical,” she said.

“This is such a contagious virus, and as long as this first step works well, we still see the rest of stage 1 in Victoria … like cafes opening.”

But Prof Bennett said the only way for Australians to safely be able to attend bars and big venue events was by downloading the Federal Government’s tracking app.

“The app is really critical to help us to feel safe and to take full advantage of the liberties we have,” she said.

Prof Bennett said the app would allow experts to map out local clusters quickly and take appropriate action.

“It really is one of the key parts of that strategy to make sure that the whole of the community doesn’t get impacted,” she said.

Prof Bennett said while the app was voluntary, some venues might only feel comfortable opening if patrons had the app.

She said residents should also be aware that while restrictions were easing, taking too many steps too quickly could result in the ramping up of regulations.

‘We need to help people to understand how much this is in their control,” Prof Bennett said.

“If we do it right, we won’t have to go backwards.”