Top infectious disease experts call for a 48-hour turnaround of contact tracing
Long delays have hampered efforts to get on top of community transmission, with some Victorians waiting nearly two weeks for confirmation they could have been exposed to the virus."The government have been asked over and over again what is the period of time between somebody testing positive and contacting tracing being undertaken and we still don't know this with any certainty," Burnet Institute epidemiologist Professor Mike Toole said.
Professor Toole said public health officials in other areas experiencing surges in COVID-19 infections, such as the city of Boston and the state of Oregon in the United States, had enforced benchmarks that extensive contact tracing must be completed within 48 hours of a positive test result in 90 to 95 per cent of cases.
With the Andrews government poised to on Sunday announce its plan to ease Australia's toughest COVID-19 restrictions, Professor Toole said proven interventions which do not disrupt the economy were instrumental in the fight against the virus.
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