A leading expert has warned Victoria could be headed for a second wave of coronavirus cases if community transmission continues.
Catherine Bennett, the epidemiology chair at Deakin University, says the state’s increasing number of COVID-19 cases could be cause for concern.
Victoria recorded 13 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the state total to 1792.
Seven of the positive results are believed to be community transmissions, while four are linked to known clusters.
With restrictions set to ease further in Victoria from Monday, Bennett says now is when we could see transmission surge.
“This is always the time we were most worried about… it is potentially a tipping point if we get the timing wrong,” Bennett told 7NEWS.
“Making sure the government has the capacity to stay on top of the cases that are being spread in the community is critical.”
Next steps
Bennett says it’s the number of cases spread through community transmission that raises alarm bells.
“We only need a few large clusters simultaneously to really stretch our resources,” she said.