The outbreaks which have seen Australia reach 100 coronavirus deaths

A 93-year-old woman from Sydney’s Newmarch House has died, marking Australia’s 100th confirmed coronavirus death.

Anglicare confirmed the resident from the nursing home in Sydney’s west died on Tuesday morning, becoming the 19th death at the aged care facility.

The ABC has named the woman as Alice Bacon. She is the 49th person to die of coronavirus in NSW.

Throughout the months since the virus was first detected in Australia, clusters have emerged at nursing homes and from cruise ships, with some proving to be deadly.

Aged care facilities hit hard by coronavirus

Residential aged-care homes have seen outbreaks of the virus, the most deadly outbreak at an aged facility was the Anglicare Newmarch House in Sydney’s west.

The cluster has seen 19 residents at the facility die after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Anglicare-run Newmarch House on Thursday evening confirmed it had appointed Andrew Kinkade as an external adviser for three months and agreed to the other demands of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

The Anglicare Newmarch House in Kingswood, near Penrith, identified a cluster of cases and deaths. Source: AAP
The Anglicare Newmarch House in Kingswood, near Penrith, identified a cluster of cases and deaths. Source: AAP

Australia’s second reported coronavirus death was a 95-year-old woman who was a resident at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Sydney’s Macquarie Park. Six residents at the BaptistCare owned facility died from coronavirus, the most recent being on April 6.

The 95-year-old woman was the first death at the nursing home in early March, which proved to be the first cluster identified in Australia - 16 residents and five staff members tested positive for the virus.

Federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck on Thursday told Sky News that 25 aged care homes across Australia have recorded COVID-19 cases and most had managed well.

Six residents from BaptistCare Dorothy Henderson Lodge Aged Care Centre in Sydney died after testing positive for COVID-19. Source: AAP
Six residents from BaptistCare Dorothy Henderson Lodge Aged Care Centre in Sydney died after testing positive for COVID-19. Source: AAP

Coronavirus contaminates cruise ships

Australia’s first coronavirus death was reported on March 1, the 78-year-old man died in Western Australia and was a passenger on the contaminated Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Since then cruise ships have been linked to many coronavirus deaths, perhaps the most infamous vessel being the Ruby Princess, which is now subject to a criminal investigation.

In addition to the more than 650 coronavirus cases linked to the Ruby Princess, there have been 20 deaths linked to the ship.

It was previously insinuated the Ruby Princess cluster was responsible for the outbreak in northwest Tasmania.

Of the island's 13 COVID-19 deaths, 12 have been in the northwest, and one in the state’s south was linked to the Ruby Princess and two-thirds of its overall cases are linked to the cluster.

Of Australia’s some more than 7000 cases, about 63 per cent of cases were acquired overseas.

Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan dubbed the cruise ship debacle in the country’s west “one of the great frustrations” of his life, when a German cruise liner could not leave a Fremantle port.

In Western Australia, nine people have died from coronavirus, four were from the MV Artania cruise ship. A 42-year-old crew member from the ship has been the youngest person to die in Australia from the virus.

The plagued Ruby Princess cruise ship, has been linked to almost 600 cases and is now subject to a criminal investigation. Source: AAP
The plagued Ruby Princess cruise ship, has been linked to almost 600 cases and is now subject to a criminal investigation. Source: AAP

Meatworks, McDonald’s and other virus clusters in Australia

Tasmania was forced to shut two hospitals in the northwest region of the state following an outbreak of cases, resulting in more than 1200 healthcare workers needing to be quarantined.

Extra restrictions placed over the northwest compared to the rest of the state.

In early May, a new coronavirus cluster was identified.

A meat processing facility in Melbourne has had a total of 100 confirmed coronavirus cases.

“The department is working closely with the company, which agreed to close their facility for 14 days as a precaution to ensure all required steps are taken - including thorough contact tracing, identifying all close contacts, widespread testing and precautionary cleaning,” VicHealth said in a statement, adding all staff at the facility had been tested.

Cedar Meats Australia had an outbreak of the coronavirus, forcing the Melbourne facility to shut down. Source: AAP
Cedar Meats Australia had an outbreak of the coronavirus, forcing the Melbourne facility to shut down. Source: AAP

Ten cases have been linked to a McDonalds restaurant in Melbourne and the chain has closed 12 restaurants in Melbourne for a deep clean.

Australia has done well at containing the spread of the coronavirus, and the death toll is considerably low compared to that of other countries.

However, the restrictions which have contributed to Australia’s success have undoubtedly hurt loved ones of those who have died of COVID-19, and other causes throughout the pandemic, with limits on how many mourners can attend a funeral.

One group hardest hit by coronavirus

While anyone can catch COVID-19, and potentially die from it, Australia and other countries around the world have seen the virus disproportionately kill older people.

The youngest Australian to die from the virus was a 42-year-old, whereas the oldest patients to die were aged 95.

In Australia, men aged between 70 and 89 account for the most deaths, with 19 deaths reported for men aged 70 to 79 and 18 deaths of men aged between 80 and 89.

with AAP

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