Melbourne (AFP)
Australia reported on Thursday 723 new cases of coronavirus identified in 24 hours in the state of Victoria (South-East) alone, a new record of contaminations linked in particular to retirement homes.
This state of which Melbourne is the capital is the heart of the resurgence of the disease on the island-continent, whose initial response to the epidemic had been hailed.
For three weeks, several districts of Melbourne and its surroundings have been subject to containment.
The authorities however announced Thursday 723 new contaminations in 24 hours, and 13 deaths linked to the coronavirus in the state of Victoria alone. The previous record for new cases on Monday was much lower (+549) and covered the entire territory.
Victoria Prime Minister Daniel Andrews has blamed the sharp increase in part on a surge in cases in institutions for the elderly. Most of those who died were over 70 years old.
Concern over this return of the Covid-19 is beginning to spread to the rest of the country. Three new cases have been identified in the state of Queensland and several schools in Sydney closed between Wednesday and Thursday, with some fearing that Australia's largest city is also on the verge of turning back into a large-scale epidemic.
The state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, reported 18 new cases on Thursday, a figure similar to the previous days.
While the huge island-continent had rather managed to control the epidemic before, Melbourne has been experiencing a resurgence of cases since mid-June. The new wave was blamed on breaches of the rules in hotels where travelers returning from abroad were doing their quarantine.
Australia, with a population of 25 million, has recorded more than 16,000 coronavirus cases and 189 deaths.
© 2020 AFP