Victorians are getting tested in large numbers again as the state tries to process tens of thousands of people who rushed home before borders closed. There's been frustration in recent days, with people turned away from clinics as they struggle with the surge. The spike in demand comes as the state confronts a fresh COVID-19 cluster, centred around a Thai restaurant in the Melbourne suburb of Black Rock. GUEST: Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, chair of the the Victorian Council of the Australian Medical Association and former national AMA president Source: ABC Radio National   

"You put your faith in the people whose job it is to look at those things and to make those decisions." About half of Victoria's infected healthcare workers were in aged care, nearly 1,100 in hospitals, with the remainder in community healthcare. Source: Norman Swan & Will Jackson, ABC 7:30 [embed]http://twitter.com/i/status/1326091811215978496[/embed]

In early September, as Victoria's daily COVID-19 case numbers were finally dropping out of triple figures, Premier Daniel Andrews announced the creation of a system of local response units in Melbourne, to replace the highly centralised system that had failed to stop the second wave. But two months on, while six units in regional Victoria are operating, the metropolitan hubs that were supposed to be established "within weeks", have not yet started working. Source: ABC News   [embed]https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1324817538644021248[/embed]  

Victoria's Chief Health Officer has defended the tough lockdown measures and explained why the outbreaks in Melbourne are so different from elsewhere. He says the differences between the cases in Victoria and New South Wales are profound: with second wave clusters settling in communities and households where it's hardest to control. Source: Emily Bourke, ABC Radio  

Frustrated GPs are treating patients with COVID-19 symptoms who are refusing to get tested, prompting concerns about undetected cases circulating in the community. It comes as Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton revealed that up to 30 per cent of active coronavirus cases are not being detected on any given day in Victoria. Australian Medical Association council chair Dr Mukesh Haikerwal said he was seeing a couple of patients every day who had coronavirus symptoms but refused testing. “It’s a major problem,” he said. Source: Henrietta Cook, Sydney Morning Herald  

An Altona North GP clinic has been named Victoria’s best for its ground-breaking approach to COVID-19 testing. Altona North Medical Group has been awarded the Victorian General Practice of the Year by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. In March, the clinic set up a carpark testing site and a mini contact tracing hub. Former president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, who runs the clinic, said “You get on and do the best you can for people you look after”. “When your colleagues recognise that, it’s a boost to the morale,” Dr Haikerwal told Neil Mitchell. The Altona GP said he