For the first few months of this pandemic, Daniel Andrews could seemingly do no wrong.

He was decisive, concise and firm.

His communication style was open and transparent and he carried the ability to make all of us want to believe we had this in check. He had this in check.

His popularity and approval rating soared as his calm demeanour and his direct style won over hundreds of thousands of Victorians, who needed to hear the state's response was going to plan.

But the problem with making yourself the major focus or the single focus from a government perspective, is that you ultimately become responsible for the things that go wrong, just as much as you do for the things that do go to plan.

It might not be Daniel Andrews' personal fault that the state's quarantine operations for returning travellers went so far wrong, but his halo certainly slipped as cases started to emerge.

Earlier this week, after a couple of days where new case numbers slipped below 400, a couple of optimistic comments about maybe having broken the back of the pandemic's spread have subsequently turned out to be anything but.

In the past two days alone, more than 1300 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Victoria.

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Thursday was our deadliest day yet, and it seems none of us can have any confidence about where case numbers are heading from one day to the next.

And as questions arise and doubts continue to surface about our state's response and more poignantly, the premier's response, his political opponents will inevitably sense an opening.

None of us want the government's management of this deep and unfolding crisis to become a political football.

One of the strengths of how this national emergency has been handled has been the support and cooperation of the various state governments and the federal government, even as borders were locked down, and Victorians locked in.

By his own admission, Mr Andrews has only had to pick up the phone and call Scott Morrison, and help would arrive.

But as part of a deeply worrying second wave of the coronavirus, community transmission is well and truly in play, and it is now extremely difficult to get a handle on just how far into the community the virus extends.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and no one could blame Mr Andrews for wanting to give Victorians some good news this week, even as we descended into a state of mandatory mask wearing and weary Victorians.

But how can a leader extricate himself from being the pivot of the state's response to COVID-19, and can he even do so, especially given how the tide has turned in the past week.

The problem is we all wanted to believe the glimmer of hope and the silver lining was real as well, and that makes it doubly difficult to digest, accept and process when things go so pear-shaped so dramatically and so quickly.

The gross stupidity and selfishness of those who flaunt the rules about self-isolation, or who refuse to wear a mask for some other nonsensical reason would never have been factored into anyone's thinking.

Looking through the scores of photos taken by the Addy's snappers this week, the incredibly long queue of vehicles waiting to deliver drivers to a testing facility further reinforce the concern that exists in our community.

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The emergence of a cluster of cases at Castlemaine's Don KR facility, a trio of Catholic schools impacted by COVID-19 on Wednesday, another aged care provider confirming a positive diagnosis of one of its staff members, then another case relating to Girton Grammar, and all this before lunchtime yesterday.

These are times that can test the anxiety levels of anyone, but it's important we look back at some of the original messages about community wellbeing and safety from four months or so ago when the pandemic began to unfold in central Victoria.

Looking out and after a neighbour, checking in to make sure they're okay, supporting local business where we can, practicing good hygiene and remembering to social distance at all times has never been more important.

The difference from Monday is, we need to wear a mask when we do any of these things, and indeed, whenever we step outside our homes.

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