Victoria’s contact tracing system was not fit for purpose when coronavirus hit, parliamentary inquiry finds

A parliamentary inquiry into Victoria’s contact tracing system has found the Government was unwilling to invest in resources before the pandemic, and its processes once COVID-19 hit were not fit to deal with a surge in cases and led to significant errors.

The state’s testing and tracing systems were overwhelmed during the second wave, which saw hundreds of cases diagnosed daily at its peak.

The Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee has this morning issued 47 findings and 19 recommendations, including ongoing monitoring and improvement of the regime, after looking into issues in the scheme.

The committee found there was no evidence of the State Government acting on reports which identified the need for additional contact…