Melbourne University head says restrictions could do more harm than virus

The University of Melbourne's vice-chancellor says Australia's 'lockdown mindset' in response to COVID-19 risks doing more damage than the virus itself, particularly to the lives of young people. Professor Duncan Maskell, an expert in infectious diseases and the head of Australia’s wealthiest university, said Australia had to move beyond the lockdown phase of its response or risk experiencing even greater loss of life from poverty and suicide. 'At what point do the measures that we take to suppress the infectious disease rate actually start to do more damage than the disease itself?' Professor Maskell said. 'I’m very concerned actually that if we carry on in this kind of lockdown mindset for too long, we will seriously damage young people's lives.