Four people die from coronavirus overnight in NSW
Four men have died of coronavirus overnight in NSW, taking the state’s death toll to 16.
These fatalities take Australia’s death toll to 34, with two deaths confirmed on Saturday – a man in Canberra and a woman in Victoria.
The latest deaths were confirmed by NSW Health authorities at a press conference on Sunday.
NSW Health’s Executive Director of Health Protection Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the men were aged 91, 80, 79 and 61.
Dr McAnulty said three of the men contracted the disease overseas, however admitted he didn’t have “all that information”.
When asked by reporters, Dr McAnulty confirmed three of the men who died likely contracted the disease on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
Dr McAnulty passed on his condolences to the families of those who died.
“It just reinforces that message that the elderly and people with underlying diseases are most prone to severe complications, intensive care and death,” he said.
He did confirm of the four deaths, one happened on the North Coast of the state, one at Hornsby Hospital in Sydney and the other two at the city’s Westmead Hospital.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirmed there were now 2580 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state.
Across the state 39 people have “succumbed to the virus” and are in intensive care units, Mr Hazzard said.
Of those 39, 23 people are on ventilators.
Despite the news of the four deaths, Dr McAnulty acknowledged there were early signs “stabilisation” with the number of confirmed cases in NSW.
“Numbers of new cases, of course, fluctuate from day-to-day, and we are very keen that testing continue for those areas that we have previously explained. Particularly in areas where there may have been community transmission, such as the Bondi area,” he said.
Overnight, NSW confirmed 87 people tested positive, while Mr Hazzard confirmed more than 121,000 cases have been tested since it became available.
“It is pleasing to see early signs of stabilisation, which is down to a number of important facts,” Dr McAnulty said, stressing the importance of early detection for those showing symptoms or those who are of risk.
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