Join +750K new investors every month who copy stock picks from billionaire's portfoliosSign Up Free

UPDATE 2-Australia's COVID-19 hotspot expects fewer than 100 cases a day by next week

Published 28/08/2020, 09:50 am

* Victoria state reports 113 new COVID-19 infections

* Most populous state reports biggest cluster in 2 weeks

* New Zealand says it has found 12 infections

(Recasts, adds quote from state health official, TV and PIX to slug)

By Colin Packham

SYDNEY, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Australia's second most populous state - the epicentre of the country's latest COVID-19 outbreak - said on Friday it expects to soon report just double digit daily rises in new infections, as a stringent lockdown slows the spread of the virus.

Victoria state said it has detected 113 new cases in the past 24 hours, unchanged from the previous day, and well below the one-day record of 725 cases reported in early August.

Authorities said they expect cases numbers to fall below 100 as soon as the weekend, four weeks into a six-week hard lockdown of around 5 million people in the state capital, Melbourne.

"It's not gotten below 100 (per day) yet, I do expect that to happen, if not over the weekend, then by next week," Victoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told reporters in Melbourne.

"It is helpful from a psychological point of view."

Other Australian states have closed their borders to Victoria, a measure that authorities believe has stopped a nationwide second wave.

Still Australia's most populous state, New South Wales on Friday said it has found 13 new cases, the biggest one-day rise in cases since Aug 13.

Queensland state was the only other state to report new infections, with three cases detected in the past 24 hours. Elsewhere the virus has been effectively eliminated.

The country has now recorded nearly 25,500 COVID-19 infections, while the death toll rose to 584 after 12 people died in Victoria.

In neighbouring New Zealand, where a cluster emerged earlier this month after more than 100 days without a community transmission, officials reported 12 new cases, seven of them people who have returned from overseas and already in quarantine.

New Zealand now has just over 1,700 COVID-19 infections, while 22 people have died from the virus.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.