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SYDNEY: Australia recorded 17 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday (August 23), however infections in Victoria State, that of all the most recent deaths, are showing a downward trend, the government said on Sunday.
Apart from Victoria, which accounts for more than 80% of COVID-19 deaths in Australia due to a momentary wave of infections, the country has largely moved away from the largest number of patients in many countries with around 24,500 infections and 502 deaths.
Worldwide, approximately 5,900 other people die every 24 hours of COVID-19 on average, according to a Reuters count, with the United States, Brazil and India leading the increase in the number of deaths.
Victoria’s prime minister, Daniel Andrews, said the state, which is nearly halfway through a six-week blockade, had shown 208 new infections in the last 24 hours. That’s higher than the 182 new instances reported on Saturday, but still below the weekly average, he said.
“We will defeat this wave of the moment,” Andrews told reporters. “And then we can start with the opening procedure. Exactly when that will be, we give other people a definitive date. But… my purpose is to end the year with anything: a general COVID.”
Andrews said the 17 deaths shown in the 24 hours prior to Sunday were related to outbreaks of viruses in nursing homes.
The neighboring New South Wales, the most populous state, and the northeastern state of Queensland reported five new cases combined on Sunday. Western Australia has reported a new infection, the first case shown since Wednesday.
As the spread of the disease slows, state and federal governments have discussed lowering the limit of 4,000 Australians returning a week to repatriate stranded abroad, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the prime minister’s workplace did not return requests for comment.
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