Aust Surpasses 750 COVID-19 Deaths as Restrictions Extended in Melbourne
Australia has surpassed 750 coronavirus deaths as strict restrictions were extended in the country’s hardesthit state. As of Sunday afternoon 753 Australians had died from COVID-19, up from 748 on Saturday. All five deaths were in Victoria, taking the state’s death toll to 666, 88.4 percent of the national total. “All of today’s deaths are linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities,” said a statement from the Department of Health and Human
Services in Victoria on Sunday. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 26,279 on Sunday afternoon, and the number of new cases in last 24 hours is 76.
Victoria confirmed 63 new cases and reclassified four that were previously diagnosed, resulting in a net increase of 59 cases.
“Within Victoria, 14 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 49 are under
investigation,” said the statement. Despite new case numbers in Victoria continuing to fall, Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday announced that strict stage-four restrictions in Melbourne, the capital city of the state, will be extended until Sept. 28 with some minor changes.
“If we go too far too soon, the modelling also tells us we’d be on track for a third wave by mid-November,” said the statement from Premier on Sunday.
“I understand there’ll be some people who will be disappointed, those who wanted more and sooner. But these are the steady and sustainable steps that our health experts tell us will see us out of this, safely.”
New South Wales (NSW) confirmed 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. Queensland confirmed two more and one was reported in Western Australia.