There has been a couple of necessary extensions to that initial declaration, most recently until the middle of next month, with a glimmer of hope the worst of the second stage could now be behind us.

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But other states have already sounded an ominous warning to those of us in Victoria that until community transmissions cease for a period of at least 28 days, travel beyond our own borders remains out of bounds.

So when Premier Daniel Andrews urges anyone with even the slightest symptoms to get tested as soon as possible, it's difficult to argue.

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The number of positive cases detected in central Victoria has definitely slowed in recent days, but until we get to zero new cases and for a reasonable period of time, we will continue to have the onerous state three restrictions or similar imposed upon us.

Mr Andrews remains a leader under siege, as federal government and Australian Defence Force officials continue to poor scorn onto his claims the offer of assistance from the military was either not forthcoming or was woefully inadequate.

For whatever reason, our state has gone from being on the cusp of the virtual elimination of COVID-19 to the absolute chaos of the past couple of months as numbers spiralled seemingly out of control and sadly, hundreds of Victorians, most of them elderly, succumbed to the virus.

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Here in central Victoria, as in the rest of the state, we've been through restrictions once before and we know we can manage our way through whatever comes our way - provided we do the right thing as and when we are asked to do so.

There's little point any of us complaining about the fact we remain trapped in our own backyards if we are not prepared to acknowledge the way out means wearing a mask if we must leave our homes.

We have to remain vigilant about the need for social distancing, and we must get tested if we think there's even the slightest early onset of the symptoms of the coronavirus.