Coronavirus: Increase in COVID-19 cases slows to just 1pc a day as curve conquered
RACHEL BAXENDALE 8:23PM APRIL 19, 2020
Medics perform COVID-19 tests at a drive-through testing center at Bondi Beach. Picture: AFP
Australia has seen an increase in coronavirus cases of less than 1 per cent per day for seven straight days, showing a “genuine flattening” of the infection curve, Health Minister Greg Hunt has declared.
Mr Hunt said that while there was “more work to be done”, with 53 cases confirmed in Australia in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, the reduction in case numbers was “an important national achievement”.
“What it means is, we now have a sustained and genuine flattening of the curve,” he said.
“There is more work to be done — 53 cases in the last 24 hours, admittedly some of them within the quarantine hotels — says we have to maintain what we’re doing, but what we’re doing is working.”
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed Australia’s coronavirus efforts are proving successful. Picture: AAP
Mr Hunt said there had been 411,000 COVID-19 tests in Australia, and described testing, contact-tracing and social isolation as “our strongest weapons” against the virus.
“Social isolation, although it’s difficult, although it’s challenging, is extremely important in the fight against coronavirus,” he said.
“It’s helping to bring down the rate of transmission.”
Australia has 6586 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
The nation’s COVID-19 death toll has risen to 72, following the confirmation on Sunday of the deaths of a man in his 80s in a Melbourne hospital, and an 83-year-old Queensland man in quarantine in Sydney, who had been a passenger on the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship.
There were 184 Australians in hospital with coronavirus on Sunday, including 51 in intensive care, of whom 33 were on ventilators.
In NSW, 10 of the state’s 21 new cases of COVID-19 were linked to the nursing home where a 93-year-old man died on Saturday. Three more staff and six more residents of Anglicare’s Newmarch House tested positive, taking the total number of cases at the aged care home in western Sydney to 39 — with more than a quarter of the home’s 102 residents now infected, alongside 13 staff.
Three of Victoria’s nine new patients were in mandatory hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in hotel quarantine in the state to 42.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the state’s numbers for the weekend — which included the confirmation of 17 cases on Saturday — had come after 3522 tests on Friday, following a significant broadening of testing criteria.
“So we’re looking more, we’re finding cases and that gives us confidence that we’re being very successful in terms of suppressing this virus,” Mr Andrews told Sky News.
Victoria Police, meanwhile, arrested and charged an 18-year-old from Melbourne’s northwest after he was allegedly caught breaching social-distancing rules five times in 10 days.
During one breach, Sunbury man Jack Attwell allegedly told police he had COVID-19 and would cough on them.
Mr Attwell faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday charged with one count of reckless conduct endangering life and five counts of persistent contravention of stage-three COVID-19 directions.
Tasmania recorded seven new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, Queensland five and Western Australia one.
One of the Tasmanian cases was a resident at the Melaleuca Home for the Aged in East Devonport, while the other six were associated with the cluster of cases at two hospitals in the state’s northwest region.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation ... 595a8e62eb
With the Australian there are usually some pretty good comments.
Wendy 7 HOURS AGO
The goal of flattening the curve has been achieved, so either state your new goals or give us our freedoms back
Andrew 9 HOURS AGO
Why has flattening the curve changed from being related to the peak daily number of new cases, which was about 380 on 27 March, to getting the cumulative cases rate of change close to zero? It is no longer about flattening the curve to prevent the health system from being overloaded. That passed nearly a month ago.
Cnsrvtv 10 HOURS AGO
I think that the Government has lost the reasons and objectives of lowering the curve.
Originally we were told the objective of flattening the curve was to ameliorate the pressure on out medical system because left unchecked we'd go down the path that Italy went where hospitals and medicos failed to cope, ventilators ran out, the virus attacked and killed some medicos etc... we needed to avoid this scenario.
To-date we HAVE avoided this scenario and have flattened the curve.
But we have NOT stopped the possibility of infection, in fact all that is happened is that we have isolated us from being infected. In short: herd immunity has yet to be achieved as there is insufficient numbers to make herd immunity happen or work.
Our successful measures in flattening the curve has merely prolonged susceptibility to infection, simply because there is no chance of beating the virus through social distancing.
In the final analysis the flattening of the curve will do no more than extend the time frame towards solving the problem, as infections WILL occur at a higher rate once social distancing is relaxed. Once the herd of immune people grows the corresponding chance of catching the virus decreases.
Now is the time to relax the social distancing rules, but only by balancing three objectives: maintaining low infection rates (NOT Zero) - rebuilding slowly our economy - protecting the most vulnerable. A difficult task but a necessary one that the PM, Treasurer and Minister for Health need to work out.
David 12 HOURS AGO
Sounds more like a sniffle than a pandemic.
Australia is NOT Italy, Spain, UK, or USA.
The modelling is WRONG.
The model needs to include population density, average daily temperatures, household composition, medical care capacity, communication styles, social norms, etc.
We have tragically overreacted and trashed a perfectly good economy.
The Unremoved Boomer 13 HOURS AGO
That old chestnut “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics” has proved to be truism during this entire Coronavirus debacle.
There has been so much dodgy data produced that it’s now simply safer to not believe any of it.
Dionysius 11 HOURS AGO
And what are your data to support your view?
Andrew 9 HOURS AGO
Read the articles challenging the response or statistics. The one regarding Italy a week back states only 12% of the deaths there were due to the virus the died with it. Look at China upping its death toll by exactly 50%. Their death toll during the crisis was an exact match for a mathematical formula and so obviously fake.
Neil 14 HOURS AGO
There is absolutely no reason that Australia could not be virus free very soon. We are an island. All international arrivals must quarantine on Christmas Island at their own expense for one month. No cruise ships should be allowed to dock in Australian Ports until a vaccine is produced and distributed. If you want to take a cruise, you fly out to an international port and Quarantine on Christmas Island at your expense when coming back in. In the meantime, open up our State borders internally and get people moving again.
Vaughan 15 HOURS AGO
The PM compared NZ's approach to ours and found we'd done better despite fewer restrictions. Now look within the Commonwealth. SA appears to have done better than the east coast despite even fewer restrictions. SA never restricted gatherings to two people. Their limit is still ten. WA & NT too. Maybe we should look at easing restrictions to that level nationwide right now?
Terry 15 HOURS AGO
If the rate of cases is going down......how can it be an increase???
We had about 300 cases a day Apr 1....now 50 or so....that's a massive decrease!!
djc 12 HOURS AGO
The number of new cases each day is declining. It can flatten to zero.
The total number of cases that have ever been counted is still increasing by the number of new cases. It will flatten at a maximum value.
Classic statistical ambiguity if you don't know what is being reported.
Coal Face 15 HOURS AGO
Qld premier now says she is prepared to take a look at a NRL return if medical advise changes. No such luck with Qld schools. Australia's Chief Medical Officer says children should be in school. Qld's mixed messages continue. Now it's schools " are only open for essential worker children". uh?
John 16 HOURS AGO
I predicted on March 21st, in a published comment on this site, that the rate of increase would be greatly diminished by Easter. I am ready to receive the apologies of the catastrophists who one month ago we’re predicting exponential increases and spiralling death rates.
