Australia has now reached 6,010 confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus, after 11 more patients tested positive in Western Australia.
Seven of those are from cruise ships, which are fast becoming the country’s primary source of infection.
Also announced on Wednesday were two more cases of the respiratory infection in Australian Capital Territory, taking its total to 99.
But the daily rate of infection is still dropping considerably, bringing encouraging signs that Australia is flattening the curve.
WA Health Minister Roger Cook said seven of the state’s new cases were linked to cruise ships, including the Artania ship which is currently docked at Fremantle.
Australia has now reached 6,010 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 50 deaths across the country
The cruise ship Artania (pictured) is docked at Fremantle in Western Australia and has had a number of coronavirus diagnosises
It brings the states total to 481, with six deaths.
The minister also announced that the testing criteria would be expanded from Thursday, and anyone with a fever of 38C or higher – or a history of fever or respiratory infection – could now be tested.
The new confirmed cases in ACT are both men, aged in the 60s and 70s.
One has recently travelled overseas and the other is a close contact of a previous confirmed case.
There are currently four COVID-19 patients in Canberra hospitals, with the remainder are isolating at home.
It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave a rousing speech in parliament this morning as he vowed Australia would win the ‘battle’ against coronavirus.
But he warned the fight against the virus may last more than six months.
‘We have bought Australia valuable time to chart a way out over the next six months. But there are no guarantees, and it could well take far longer,’ he said.
A woman is seen wearing a face mask as she walks the empty streets of Sydney’s Circular Quay on March 21
Over in New South Wales, there are currently 2,734 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with testing now being ramped up in at at-risk areas to combat the killer virus.
While NSW – and Australia generally – is seeing a decline in cases as the rate of infection slows, hotspots are springing up across the state, sparking fears of a second wave of community transmission.
Testing is being increased in 13 suburbs – Waverley, Woollahra, Dee Why, Manly, Ryde, Macquarie Park, Broken Hill, Lake Macquarie, Manning, Nowra and South Nowra, Byron and Port Macquarie.
NSW Health is urging anyone in the areas with symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath to get tested.
The areas are specifically being focused on as they have high numbers of community transmission where the origin is unknown.
Medical personnel carry equipment to the Bondi Beach drive-through testing centre on Tuesday (pictured), where people are queuing up in their vehicles to test for coronavirus
This means some of the cases in these areas cannot be linked to where the person was first exposed to the virus.
‘In those areas we have seen a case or cases of local transmission where we haven’t been able to find the source,’ Chief Medical Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
Waverley, which includes Bondi, Bronte and Queens Park in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, leads all areas in New South Wales with 167 recorded cases of COVID-19.
The Waverley count would include several backpackers who tested positive to the respiratory illness in Bondi last month.
Sydney’s Northern Beaches – including the affluent suburbs of Manly and Dee Why, where hundreds have continued to flock to the beach on sunny days – has a total of 144 confirmed cases.
Many of Australia’s most popular beach, such as Queenscliff Beach in Manly (pictured), have been closed due to strict COVID-19 restrictions