Coronavirus: Hospitals set to open door to more surgeries

Government officials will next week review whether the volume of surgeries and medical procedures can be increased.

Health Minister Greg Hunt. Picture: AAP

Government officials will next week review whether the volume of surgeries and medical procedures can be increased as more than 6000 Australians successfully recover from the coronavirus.

Health Minister Greg Hunt on Thursday said Australia had added just 18 cases overnight, bringing the total to 6981. Of the 771 active cases, he said, 24 people were receiving treatment in ICU and 17 were on ventilators. The death toll stands at 97.

Mr Hunt said the impressive numbers were in large part due to the efforts of healthcare workers, as he announced the Morrison government had secured an extra 40 million face masks for frontline staff.

“Forty million masks from the national medical stockpile will be made available now on top of the more than 34 million masks to date which have been made available,” Mr Hunt said.

Elective surgeries at private and public hospitals are currently operating at 25 per cent after category two and some category three elective surgeries restarted following the Anzac Day weekend, ­allowing IVF, dental work, child surgeries, screening, joint replacements, eye procedures, endoscopies and colonoscopies.

Mr Hunt also addressed modelling that suggested more Australians might die of suicide than of the coronavirus, saying the government had a three-step plan to tackle mental illness.

“(Step) one is about, services (with) over $500m of (extra) mental health funding. Second is providing support through JobKeeper and JobSeeker. And third is helping people recover their independence,” he said.