Victoria records 466 new coronavirus infections and 12 deaths as authorities insist there’s enough PPE
Victoria has recorded 466 new cases of coronavirus and 12 deaths, including another man in his 30s, as authorities insist there is enough personal protective equipment amid another spike in positive tests from healthcare workers.
Two men in their 70s, two men and three women in their 80s and four women in their 90s were among the other deaths announced in Victoria on Saturday.
Six of those deaths were linked to aged care, Premier Daniel Andrews said.
It comes after the state confirmed 450 new cases and 11 deaths the previous day, with infections among healthcare workers making up almost a third of Friday’s numbers.
Saturday marked the 34th consecutive day where Victoria had a triple-digit increase in cases.
Mr Andrews said there were about 140 more infections confirmed in healthcare workers and 130 cases with an unknown source.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there were ongoing challenges in “outbreak settings” such as aged care, healthcare and other high-risk industries.
He said there wasn’t a shortage of personal protective equipment or any bottleneck in terms of distribution to any healthcare facility or workers.
“There’s certainly no lack of PPE in order to protect those healthcare workers,” Prof Sutton told reporters in Melbourne.
Mr Andrews said the state had 68 million gloves, 19 million surgical masks, two million face shields and 530,000 goggles being distributed daily from a PPE warehouse.
There were 636 Victorians in hospital with the virus on Saturday, 44 of whom were in intensive care, including 29 on ventilators.
Prof Sutton said authorities were seeing some stabilisation in numbers, with between 400 and 500 cases each day, but that it wasn’t good enough.
“It is a positive that we’ve averted an exponential increase through the last couple of weeks,” he said.
He said they could have seen thousands of cases each day if the numbers hadn’t stabilised, and there were estimates they had averted 20,000 or more cases by virtue of the Stage 3 restrictions.
“Stage 4 restrictions will make a difference but we won’t see them for another week or more,” Prof Sutton said.
Almost 200 Victorians were fined in the 24 hours to Saturday morning for breaching coronavirus restrictions, including a man who broke curfew to buy cigarettes and lollies.
The man was fined $1652 for breaching Melbourne’s 8pm – 5am curfew and $200 for failing to wear a face mask, after he was caught at a service station just before 1am.
Another man who was found riding a city-bound train outside the five-kilometre radius from his home apparently told police he was out to “get some fresh air”.
Across the border in NSW, there were nine new coronavirus cases announced on Saturday, bringing the state’s total to 3,662.
NSW Health said two were returned international travellers and four were locally-acquired close contacts of known cases.
The final three were still under investigation with no known source.
Metropolitan Melbourne residents are subject to Stage 4 restrictions and must comply with a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5am. During the curfew, people in Melbourne can only leave their house for work, and essential health, care or safety reasons.
Between 5am and 8pm, people in Melbourne can leave the home for exercise, to shop for necessary goods and services, for work, for health care, or to care for a sick or elderly relative. The full list of restrictions can be found here.
All Victorians must wear a face covering when they leave home, no matter where they live.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
SBS
