A woman in her 60s has died of coronavirus in Victoria, taking the national death toll to 24.
Health authorities in Victoria confirmed the woman had become the sixth COVID-19 fatality in the state on Thursday afternoon.
Victorian Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton, confirmed the death with an announcement to Twitter: ‘Sadly, since this morning, we have been advised of a 6th COVID-19 death – a woman in her 60s who died in a Melbourne hospital last night.’
‘A fifth death was a woman in her 70s, which was announced earlier. Our thoughts are with their families.’
A woman in her 60s has died of coronavirus in Victoria, taking the national death toll to 24
On Thursday morning, health authorities in Victoria confirmed a woman in her 70s had become the fifth COVID-19 fatality in the state.
The Queensland health minister said an 85-year-old patient from Darling Downs, in regional southern Queensland, had also died from the condition overnight.
The man died in Toowoomba Hospital after being on the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship earlier this month.
The 85-year-old man is the second Queenslander who has died after being on the cruise ship
Nationally, coronavirus cases soared to 5,108 by Thursday afternoon.
In Victoria alone, there are now 1,036 cases – up 68 from Tuesday – including 36 patients still in hospital and six in intensive care.
Another 57 people were diagnosed in Queensland overnight, taking the state’s total to 835, including three people who have died. Nine patients remain in intensive care.
A fourth woman from Noosaville, in Queensland, died from the virus while in Sydney.
The Northern Territory also confirmed an additional two cases of coronavirus overnight, both from returning travellers.
A woman in her 20s who returned from Bali on March 20 and has been self isolating at home was diagnosed, as was Alice Springs woman who recently returned from the Gold Coast.
The state’s total confirmed cases now rests at 21, the lowest in Australia.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos and chief health officer Brett Sutton held a press conference on Thursday morning regarding COVID-19 updates.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the woman who died in Victoria was in her 70s and had been battling the illness in hospital for several days
Pictured: Two women wearing face masks as they walk near a COVID-19 testing clinic in Bondi
Ms Mikakos said she understood the female victim was in hospital for several days battling the virus.
‘I have to stress, this is a very serious situation. Unprecedented in our lifetime. I urge Victorians to follow the rules.
‘None of these rules have been made lightly, they’ve all been made to help the most vulnerable members of our community.’
In response to the death of a fourth Queenslander, health minister Steven Miles said it is more crucial than ever to slow the spread of the virus through effective social distancing policies.
‘The longer we can slow it, the better our hospitals will be able to cope with demand, the more lives our doctors and nurses and health staff will be able to save, and that is what is at stake here. Queensland lives,’ he said on Thursday.
‘When we ask you to do things which are often inconvenient, sometimes are very inconvenient, sometimes very impactful on your work or your business, please know that we are taking this seriously because it is serious. This virus is deadly.’
Police are seen wearing protective face masks while working at Adelaide airport on Wednesday, April 1
In response to the threat in Victoria, health authorities in the state have expanded their testing criteria.
‘We will be shifting our focus to testing a wider group of people in the community,’ Ms Mikakos said.
Police officers, child protection workers, homelessness support workers and paid or unpaid workers in health care, residential care and disability care are now being encouraged to get tested if they develop symptoms.
Immunosuppressed patients admitted to hospital and patients in high-risk settings such as military operating settings, boarding schools, prisons and correctional settings will now also qualify for testing.
Ms Mikakos said most of the cases of coronavirus had come from overseas, so the decision to isolate returning Australians in hotels – away from their families – had freed up additional testing kits.
The state’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said of all the people who had returned home and were quarantined in hotels, he is only aware of one who tested positive for COVID-19.
He expects lockdown measures to keep Victorians safe will likely be in place until at least the end of May or early June.
The full effect of the policies will not be felt for at least 10-12 days after they were introduced due to the incubation period of the virus and delay in receiving results from testing kits.
Ms Mikakos also announced an additional 9,000 critical care beds after the state government struck a deal with private hospitals.
Some 4,000 health workers have expressed interest in helping in the fight against COVID-19.
A healthcare professional waits at a Bondi pop-up clinic testing for the coronavirus disease. Authorities hope strict social distancing measures will slow community transmission