Coronavirus Australia live news: Victoria records three new locally acquired COVID-19 cases after testing sites were overwhelmed on the weekend

Victoria could have been better prepared for the testing surge 

Victoria could have been better prepared for the surge in demand for COVID-19 testing, after closing its border to New South Wales, according to epidemiologist Catherine Bennett.

More than 60,000 people returned from NSW over the New Year period, following the hard closure of the border, and all were required to get tested for coronavirus.

Health authorities have called staff back to work from their holidays to meet the testing demand.

Professor Bennett, from Deakin University, said authorities should have had staff on standby for the surge in demand for tests as soon as community transmission was picked up in Sydney.

“You sometimes just don’t…