Australia suffers its first coronavirus death in more than a month

A man in his 80s has died from coronavirus in Victoria, taking the national toll from COVID-19 to 103, as the state records another 20 new infections.

Victoria records 25 coronavirus deaths on deadliest day of pandemic so far Source: Pixabay

A man in his 80s has died of coronavirus in Victoria, as the state records 20 new cases.

The man is the 20th person to succumb to the virus in the state and the first death in Australia in a month, taking the national toll to 103.

Of the state's 20 new cases on Wednesday, nine have been identified through routine testing, seven are linked to known outbreaks and one is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.

Three cases remain under investigation.

Three people have been linked to a Keilor Downs family cluster, three are staff members at Hampstead Dental in Maidstone, and another case has been linked to St Monica's college at Epping.

One case has been linked to Northland H&M, bringing the total number of cases in that cluster to five.

There are currently 30 people with COVID-19 in hotel quarantine.

A COVID-19 testing site at Craigieburn Health in Melbourne, Tuesday, 23 June, 2020.

AAP

 

It's suspected a family cluster in Hallam began when a worker at the Stamford Plaza, which is hosting returned travellers, contracted the virus.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said 241 cases have been identified as community transmission, an increase of eight since Tuesday.

"That number has been around 10 every day but a decrease of eight is somewhat encouraging," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"It certainly means we're not getting an increase or an exponential increase in community transmission cases day-by-day, but there are 141 active cases in Victoria with over 1000 close contacts."

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Source: SBS Greek