Australia’s state of Victoria recorded 41 new confirmed cases of coronavirus yesterday, double the daily rate seen a week ago, struggling to gain control over the pandemic while the rest of the country continues easing social distancing restrictions.
Victoria, the country’s second-most-populated state, has now seen 11 straight days of double digit new cases, most linked to known outbreaks in Melbourne’s suburbs, health officials said. Victoria has 204 of Australia’s total of about 270 active cases.
“We are very concerned,” deputy chief health officer of Victoria, Annaliese van Diemen, said at a press conference.
One of the new cases was a returned traveller. Australia requires all locals who return to quarantine in hotels for two weeks. But about 30% of people in Victoria have declined a Covid-19 test before leaving quarantine, health officials said.
New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, recorded six new cases yesterday and officials said that returned travellers who declined to be tested will have to stay in a mandatory quarantine 10 days longer.
Despite the spike in cases in Victoria, Australia’s infections numbers of around 7,600 and 104 deaths have remained well below that of many other nations.
Lt Commander Thomas Miller of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) (right) watches as members of the Australian Defence Force perform Covid-19 coronavirus tests on members of the public in Melbourne yesterday.
