Coronavirus: daily case numbers crash in hard-hit states

Victoria and NSW have reduced their average number of new COVID-19 cases by more than 60 per cent this week.

Victoria and NSW have reduced their average number of new COVID-19 cases by more than 60 per cent this week compared to last, showing the two states with the highest levels of coronavirus have been the most successful at reducing their average daily numbers of new infections.

The Weekend Australian’s analysis of the data comes as Victoria recorded just one positive ­result among 2700 tests in the 24 hours to Friday morning.

Tasmania was the only state to record an increase in the average number of new cases per day, at 9.4 between April 12 and 17 — up 27 per cent on an average of 7.4 ­between April 5 and 12 — following the detection of a cluster of cases linked to health workers in the state’s northwest.

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Victoria and NSW showed clear evidence social-distancing measures have been working, with reductions in the daily average number of cases since last week of 64 per cent and 63 per cent respectively.

Victoria went from an average of 19 new cases last week to just 6.8 this week, while NSW went from 39.1 to 14.4. South Australia recorded a 58 per cent decrease, from an average of 2.9 cases to 1.2, while Queensland was down 56 per cent from 10.9 cases to 4.8 and WA was down 48 per cent from 9.1 cases to 4.8.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, said the state had just 127 active cases, given that of Victoria’s 1302 confirmed cases, 1159 had recovered, 14 had died and two who were overseas residents had left the country. Of the 29 new cases confirmed in NSW on Friday, 14 were attributed to a cluster of infections at the Anglicare Newmarch House aged-care facility in Caddens. Ten staff members and 20 residents have COVID-19.

Scott Morrison, meanwhile, accused an aged-care worker in northwest Tasmania of being dishonest with contact tracers investigating a COVID-19 outbreak in the region.

“We had someone down there not tell the truth to the contract tracers about where they’ve been and who they’ve been with,” the Prime Minister told Hobart’s ­Triple M.

“And that means a lot of people have been put at risk in northwest Tasmania.

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“They had been working in the health system more broadly, the aged-care system, so this has been very unhelpful.”

Mr Morrison’s comments came as authorities planned to test all residents and staff in three northwest Tasmanian nursing homes after it was revealed a worker with COVID-19 may have spread the virus at the facilities.

The person, who was diagnosed on Wednesday, worked at the North West Regional Hospital, but had also completed shifts at Melaleuca Nursing Home in East Devonport, Eliza Purton Home for the Aged in Ulverstone and Coroneagh Park in Penguin.

No virus cases had been ­confirmed at the facilities late on Friday.

Two hospitals have been forced to close in Burnie, with 60 workers and 16 patients linked to the facilities diagnosed with COVID-19.

Additional reporting: Angelica Snowden