That's a perfectly understandable reaction to the remarkable developments in Victoria over the last few days.

While we were warned of outbreaks as restrictions eased, we expected incidents similar to those in Tasmania and South Australia in March and April.

The hard lockdown of more than 3000 people in nine public housing tower blocks close to the heart of Melbourne, and the closure of the NSW-Victorian border for the first time since the crisis began, goes well beyond anything seen in this country to date.

The use of hundreds of police to create a "ring of steel" around the Flemington flats is reminiscent of Chinese officials welding up the entrances to towers in Wuhan.

It is virtually impossible for the average suburbanite to imagine how distressing life has become for the 3000 plus occupants.

The tower blocks, which date back to the 1960s, are in various states of disrepair.

Ventilation is poor, there are no balconies, light is problematic, and families of 10, 11, or more people can be living in a three or four bedroom unit with a single toilet and bathroom.

This is why Victorian authorities are scared they could be on the brink of an explosive outbreak within three kilometres of the CBD.

One point, made strongly by the ABC's Dr Norman Swan, is that it seems counterintuitive to keep known cases locked down at home given the obvious risk spreading the virus to the rest of the family.

His suggestion, that cases be taken away to be quarantined elsewhere, makes a lot of sense.

So does the call by the AMA for jurisdictions across Australia to enact a moratorium on the further easing of restrictions until the Victorian "outbreak" or "second wave" is brought under control.

That could be awhile away given community transmission is also rife in many other parts of Melbourne.

The city recorded two new deaths, the first for Australia in weeks, and a record number of new cases yesterday.

While nobody doubts that Victoria's premier Dan Andrews, his medical experts, the emergency services and community organisations, are doing the best they can they don't seem to have made a serious dent so far.

It is now 20 days since the number of infections in Victoria began to soar.

While it is way to soon to postulate on exactly why and how the virus started to get out of control again, it is apparent Mr Andrews has his suspicions.

He seems to share the view the relaxation of restrictions in June encouraged a "mission accomplished" mentality which saw some people quickly abandon newly acquired good habits.

"Stop pretending this is over - it isn't," he told Victorians yesterday.

That is good advice for everybody.

Canberrans who were out and about on the weekend would have seen crowded shopping centres, and many eateries, bars and cafes, where social distancing was being interpreted very flexibly.

The attitudes that may have got Melbourne into trouble could very easily do the same here - or anywhere else in the country.

This is not over. It won't be over until a vaccine is found and widely distributed.

The last thing Australia wants to do is to follow countries like Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US, by opening up too soon only to have to go back under the doona when the second wave appears.

Melbourne's experience has shown that when it comes to living under the lockdown it seems to be much harder the second time around.