Coronavirus: as Australia’s infection growth rate slows experts warn against complacency
- The country’s health minister said that after completing more than 230,000 tests, a slowdown in the anticipated first wave of infections looked likely
- Country’s around the world are chasing the goal of ‘flattening the curve’ to stop hospitals being overrun with critical patients
To ensure compliance, state authorities enacted sweeping powers to impose hefty fines and potential jail terms on anybody breaching rules that include a ban on public meetings of more than two people.
Health Minister Greg Hunt reported there were about 4,400 coronavirus cases nationally, with the rate of growth in new infections slowing to an average of 9 per cent over the past three days from 25-30 per cent a week ago.
Of those, 50 people were in intensive care and 20 were on ventilators, Hunt said. The death toll in a country of almost 25 million stood at 19.
Based on the completion of more than 230,000 tests, the death rate for Australian cases was below 1 per cent, significantly under the 10 per cent being reported by some other countries and suggesting “early promising signs of the curve flattening,” Hunt said.