Advertisement

Man becomes youngest person to die of coronavirus in Australia

A man in his 50s has become the youngest person to die from coronavirus in Australia.

Victorian Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos tweeted on Monday the man died in hospital on Sunday.

A woman in her 80s also died in her home.

Live blog: Coronavirus news and updates

“My thoughts are with their families,” Ms Mikakos tweeted.

Hospital staff test people outside the Tanunda War Memorial Hospital.
Staff at Tanunda War Memorial Hospital, in Barossa Valley, northeast of Adelaide, perform COVID-19 tests. Source: AAP

It takes the state’s death toll from COVID-19 to 10. Victoria currently has 1158 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

The previous youngest victim was a 61-year-old man from Sydney’s north who died over the weekend.

‘A clearer picture’

Victoria is set to broaden its testing to include people who in their line of work may place them at higher risk of exposure to any virus which may be circulating in the community.

It comes after the state’s health department said on Monday that 88 confirmed cases of the virus may have been acquired through community transmission.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said the testing will give health authorities a “clearer picture”.

“These new criteria do not mean our stage three restrictions should be relaxed. The reverse is true, we must continue these actions to flatten the curve,” he said.

Australia’s coronavirus death toll reaches 40

A man in his 80s has died in Western Australia after contracting COVID-19.

The man is the fourth person to die from the disease in the state and his death takes the national death toll from coronavirus to 40.

WA Health Minister Roger Cook confirmed the 84-year-old died at Royal Perth Hospital.

He was formerly a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.