State’s first deaths in nine months

TWO Victorian women diagnosed with Covid-19 have died in their homes, marking the state’s first virus deaths in almost nine months.

The Department of Health is investigating the deaths of a Hume woman in her 60s and a 49-year-old woman from Northcote.

It is not clear whether the women had any underlying health conditions, or if they had been vaccinated.

The deaths, the first in Victoria since November 30 last year and which take the state’s Covid toll to 822, prompted warnings that coronavirus symptoms can “rapidly worsen”.

Police and paramedics were called to the Northcote woman’s home about 1.30am on Tuesday.

Six police officers, including two who entered the home in full PPE, were stood down as a precaution but have since been deemed low risk. It is understood paramedics were again called to the home about 7am to treat a family member, who was taken to hospital in a stable condition, but were not told the residents were Covidpositive.

Victoria recorded 76 new locally acquired cases on Tuesday, with a further 31 mystery cases.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the Delta variant had affected people of all ages, revealing the median age of those in hospital was 49 years old.