Only seven new coronavirus cases from Australia’s biggest states have been confirmed during the past 24 hours, signalling major progress in flattening the curve.
With a sense that restrictions may be eased in coming weeks if the trend continues – NSW recorded six new cases and Victoria one – state premiers continued to urge people to “stay the course”.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said the reason there had been success in “suppressing the virus” was that the majority of people were doing the right thing.
“Frustrating, very difficult, no-one sent joying it, but people are following the rules and it is working, making a big difference. That gives us options down the track that would not be available to us without this, the very low case numbers,” he told reporters on Monday.
Just one new case of coronavirus was confirmed in Victoria during the past 24 hours as about 7000 tests were conducted over the weekend.
The single new case brings Victoria’s infection tally to 1329 with the death of a man in his 80s taking the state’s death toll to 15.
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In NSW, health authorities reported six new cases, while Queensland, the ACT, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia recorded no new COVID-19 cases.
But Mr Andrews doesn’t anticipate an end to the current social distancing laws and partial lockdown.
Mr Andrews said there may be an important opportunity in four weeks’ time to ease some restrictions where there is a low risk of transmission.
But he reiterated that classrooms would remain closed for the majority of schoolchildren.
NSW focuses on nursing home cluster
The total number of COVID-19 cases across the state rose slightly to 2963, with 22 people in intensive care. A total of 30 people have died.
NSW Health on Monday confirmed that a second person at the Newmarch House nursing home in Caddens, a 94-year-old man, had died.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said extensive testing had been undertaken at the facility and the focus was now on stopping the spread of the virus.
A worker with very mild symptoms entered Newmarch House six days in a row, leading Dr Chant to warn even those with minimal symptoms to avoid work and get tested.
But she was pleased by the low current rate of community infection.
“The rationale for that is that the implications for you introducing COVID-19 into those settings can be significant,” Dr Chant told reporters on Monday.
“We are aware that in those settings we see an amplification and spread of COVID-19 and we want to interrupt spread in those settings at the earliest possible time.”
Meanwhile, nine more crew members of the Ruby Princess cruise ship have tested positive to COVID-19, taking the total number of crew infected to 171.
The ship remains docked at Port Kembla, where it will stay until at least Thursday.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Sunday thanked the community for its strong response to strict coronavirus restrictions as modelling done in early March came to light.
The projection examining the effect of tougher measures suggested 700 deaths and 35,000 cases would be recorded by April 15 if nothing was done.
Queensland’s ‘tremendous effort’
It is the first time in 81 days that there have been no new cases of COVID-19, leaving the state’s total at 1019.
“This is an absolutely tremendous effort,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Monday.
“If we can keep this up over the coming weeks, I’m sure that that’s going to mean we will be able to make some changes and ease some of those restrictions on the population.”
The premier said she was overjoyed by the result, but has urged Queenslanders to continue to distance themselves socially and wash their hands.
Just 20 people are in hospital, with seven of them in intensive care on ventilators in the state’s southeast. Of those who have tested positive, 738 patients have recovered, while six Queenslanders have died.
“Of course we’ve seen in other countries, reductions to near zero levels of cases and then a second wave of infection so we need to be very cautious, we need to keep up our current approach,” Health Minister Steven Miles said.
“But if we can sustain this, then the end is in sight.”
The post Glimmer of hope: Australia records only seven new virus cases appeared first on The New Daily.
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