Australia began easing its lockdown last month to revive its economy. (File)
Sydney:
Australia’s second most populous state said on Wednesday that a man in his 50s died during the night of the coronavirus, the country’s first death from the virus in over a month, as concerns over a second A wave of infections has seen thousands of people lining up for COVID-19 tests and supermarkets imposing new restrictions.
The state of Victoria reported 20 cases overnight, Victoria health official Brett Sutton told reporters in Melbourne, taking the state to nearly 1,900 after recording 17 on Tuesday and 16 the day before.
“When we receive additional cases, there will be a risk of death or the risk of other cases being hospitalized and hospitalized,” Sutton told reporters in Sydney.
“That’s why we have to master the numbers.”
The increase in the number of new cases in Victoria has sparked fears of a second wave, with 241 cases in the state identified so far as community transmission, an increase of eight from Tuesday.
Authorities in Victoria, which has become the hotspot for the virus in Australia, have attempted to contain the spread of the virus in half a dozen suburbs of the largest city in Melbourne hit by a spike in cases.
Authorities believe that the upsurge in new cases has been caused by family reunions attended by people with mild symptoms.
This weekend, the state extended its state of emergency by a month and reimposed restrictions on gatherings after seeing a sharp increase in daily infections.
The rise in new infections has seen thousands of people requesting COVID-19 tests. With high demand, the police closed a driving clinic 20 minutes after it opened because it was quickly overwhelmed.
These test facilities capable of remaining open have reported waiting times of up to four hours, although authorities have said that anyone wishing to take a test will be accommodated.
The concern also saw people rushing to Victoria supermarkets, Australia’s largest supermarket chain Woolworths Group imposing new limits on specific products in the state.
State buyers will be limited to two items, including toilet paper, hand sanitizer, flour, sugar, pasta, long-life milk, eggs and rice.
“Although we have healthy inventory levels to draw on, we are taking this precautionary measure to avoid over-purchasing and to support appropriate social distancing in our Victorian stores,” said Claire Peters, general manager of the supermarket division of Woolworths.
In March, major Australian grocers placed strict limits on toilet paper purchases as buyers scoured the shelves in a spate of panic purchases sparked by fears of a coronavirus blockage.
Despite the spike in cases in Victoria, the neighboring state of New South Wales (NSW) has declared that it will not introduce any firm border closure between states.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, however, urged residents of the state to avoid visiting his neighbor to the south.
After placing restrictions on the start of the coronavirus epidemic compared to most other countries, Australia began easing its lockdown last month to revive its economy after a significant slowdown in infection rates.
Australia has so far escaped a high number of victims of the new coronavirus, with just over 7,500 infections and 103 deaths, helped by strict lock-out measures and social distancing rules.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
