Aus Health Min praises ‘sustained flattening’ of COVID-19 curve

Canberra, April 19 (IANS) Australia’s has achieved a “sustained and genuine flattening” of the COVID-19 curve, Health Minister Greg Hunt sad on Sunday.

There has been 6,586 confirmed cases of COVID in Australia as of Sunday morning, an increase of 0.8 per cent from 6,533 on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The number of cases has now increased by less than 1 per cent for seven consecutive days.

Hunt told reporters that more than 411,000 tests for the virus have been conducted across Australia, approximately 1.6 per cent of which have returned positive results.

“We now have 184 people in hospital with coronavirus, 51 in intensive care units, and 33 on ventilation,” he said.

“We now have a sustained and genuine flattening of the curve.”

“We are winning but we have not won yet. We have to focus on containment and capacity,” he added.

He announced that the government has ordered an additional 100 million face masks that will be delivered before the end of May and an additional three million influenza vaccination shots.

Hunt is set to meet with his counterparts from Australia’s eight states and territories this week to discuss re-commencing elective surgeries, which were suspended indefinitely on March 28.

The coronavirus death toll in the country currently stands at 67.

–IANS

ksk/