Coronavirus: Third patient dies in The Alfred hospital cluster

The sixth Victorian to die from COVID-19 was part of a cluster of 15 cases linked to The Alfred hospital’s cancer ward.

The COVID-19 clinic at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne. Picture: Getty Images

The sixth Victorian to die from COVID-19 was part of a cluster of 15 cases linked to The Alfred hospital’s cancer ward.

The Alfred yesterday confirmed a woman in her 60s had become the third inpatient in the haematology and oncology ward to succumb to the COVID-19, following the deaths of two men in their 70s last week.

Another two patients and 10 staff members have also tested positive.

Authorities confirmed the deaths of three other Australians yesterday, including 67-year-old Orange grandmother Janet ­Lieben and 85-year-old Toowoomba man Des Williams, both of them passengers on the Ruby Princess.

A woman in her 70s also died in a Melbourne hospital.

The national death toll stands at 24, with 5139 cases confirmed.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, revealed 135 health workers were among his state’s 1036 COVID-19 cases, as the Peter MacCallum Cancer centre confirmed a staff member had the virus and six staff at a Frankston radiography clinic in Melbourne’s southeast also tested positive.

Professor Sutton said it was not always clear where healthcare workers had picked up the virus, and it was “a risk” in any healthcare setting. “Not all of the healthcare worker cases that we’ve had have picked it up through working in healthcare settings; in fact the majority have picked it up outside of the workplace — international travel, close contacts.

“Our key actions at the moment are to identify all the close contacts to ensure they're quarantined and that there’s no further transmission.”

Alfred Health chief executive Andrew Way said the cancer ward had been closed to new admissions since last week and infection control measures had been introduced this week.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of our patient, who passed away yesterday,” he said. “Our infectious diseases and infection prevention teams have supported us to put the most stringent plan into place, and we remain completely focused on the wellbeing of our patients and staff as this pandemic unfolds.”

The two surviving cancer ­patients with COVID-19 are in a stable condition in The Alfred while the 10 staff members are recovering at home.

NSW, meanwhile, confirmed an additional 116 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 2298, with 231 being treated in hospital, 43 in intensive care.

More than 450 of NSW’s cases have occurred in cruise ship passengers, including 337 cases and four crew members linked to the Ruby Princess. A pop-up testing centre set up in Bondi to respond to a cluster of coronavirus cases in the area had tested 119 people within the first few hours.

In Western Australia, Premier Mark McGowan announced the hard closure by the weekend of the state’s borders, expressing concern about a coronavirus cluster at Adelaide Airport that has seen 12 Qantas employees and five of their close contacts test positive.

COVID-19 cases have spiked in the Kimberley with six new cases recorded, bringing the total number of cases to 11. Five of the Kimberley cases were workers in healthcare.

Tasmania also announced a further round of lockdown measures that will see Tasmanians deprived of horse and greyhound racing, recreational scallop fishing, sex services, betting at TABs and garage sales.

Premier Peter Gutwein announced the latest restrictions on Thursday afternoon.

Additional reporting: Remy Varga, Angelica Snowden, Sarah Elks, Imogen Reid, Matt Denholm