Image by sabinevanerp on Pixabay
Over this past weekend, the Australian coronavirus death toll rose to 95 as an 83-year-old woman succumbed to the disease at her Western Australia home. She is believed to have contracted the virus from a personal contact in mid-April and was admitted to hospital.
“It’s heartbreaking to hear another Western Australian has passed away – my heart goes out to her friends and her family,” Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying.
“It goes to show just how serious and how deadly this virus is. It’s a reminder for all of us – we must continue to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously.”
The woman’s death comes as Western Australia records its fourth consecutive day with no new coronavirus cases. The region has also seen social distancing restriction eased where social gathering numbers have increased from the initially-allotted two to 10. The premier warns that common sense and a sense of caution should still prevail.
“We can’t afford to get comfortable or slacken off,” McGowan said.
“Don’t be an idiot, we’re all in this together. Follow the health advice, follow the rules, keep social distancing and keep up the good personal hygiene.
“The more we do this, the sooner we can get back to normal.”
Australian’s infection rate is favourable compared to many other countries with the rate of increase steadily slowing over recent days.
‘We are looking good,’ Deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth, told Sky News on Sunday.
He attributed some of that success to extra testing and the recently-implemented COVIDSafe tracing app.
‘All those things are designed so that if there are small flares of coronavirus, spot fires if you will, that they can be suppressed very, very quickly,’ Dr Coatsworth said.
‘That offers the best balance of getting society back on its feet, confidence back into our society and living with coronavirus until a vaccine arrives.’