Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says it's too early to know if Melbourne's Black Lives Matter protest has caused COVID-19 to spread in the community.
More than 10,000 people marched from Victoria's parliament to Flinders Street Station on Saturday afternoon in solidarity with anti-racism protesters in the US, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.
Many wore masks and gloves and used hand sanitiser as they also protested the treatment of indigenous people by Australian police, but the large numbers meant many could not follow advice to stay 1.5 metres apart.
Police said they would fine the event's organisers $1652 each for breaching the Chief Health Officer's directives and the premier described the protest as irresponsible.
"A worthy cause but a fundamentally irresponsible thing to do, we won't know the results of that for another two weeks," Mr Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.
He urged those who attended to be tested if they develop coronavirus symptoms.
He added it was not feasible to fine everyone who attended the protest, nor shut down Melbourne's CBD.
"As Victoria Police made very clear, we weren't able to stop people, you can't lock 10,000 people up, you just can't do that," Mr Andrews said.
"But the rules are there for a reason, the rules are there for every single Victorian, not just the vulnerable."
Mr Andrews acknowledged Victoria's poor record on indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody, noting indigenous people made up just three per cent of the population but up to 50 per cent of those in youth justice and 25-to-30 per cent of adult prisoners.
"It is something we should all be ashamed of - the fact that so many indigenous Australians are behind bars and that so many die so young," he said.
Victoria recorded no new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, with the total number of infections remaining at 1687. Only 66 cases remain active.
Mr Andrews said zero new cases was "a very good result, just further evidence we are starting to see stability", though he warned the situation could "change rapidly".
"We are nowhere near the end of this," he said.
Australian Associated Press
