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SYDNEY: Australia reported a record daily increase in deaths from COVID-19 on Monday (Aug 31), although the number of new infections at the country’s virus epicenter fell to a nearly two-month low.
The state of Victoria said its death toll from COVID-19 rose by 41, including 22 deaths that came from nursing homes in the weeks leading up to August 27. The previous record for a day of deaths from COVID-19 in Australia was recorded on August 25 when 25 people died.
The state said it detected 73 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, the lowest since July 3.
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The decline in the number of COVID-19 cases comes as the state capital, Melbourne, enters its fourth week of a six-week lockdown in which residents are confined to their homes, a nightly curfew is imposed and a orders the closure of a large part of the state economy.
The full shutdown is scheduled to end on Sept. 13, and with cases falling, State Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said his government will detail on Sunday how restrictions will be slowly eased.
“I want to make sure we have a Christmas day as close to normal as possible,” Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.
“If (we remove the restrictions) too quickly, if we do this chasing something that might be popular for a few weeks, if we forget that it is a pandemic and think that it is a popularity contest, Christmas will not look normal at all.”
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Australia has recorded nearly 26,000 COVID-19 infections and 652 deaths from the virus, far fewer than other developed countries.
While Australia has largely avoided a high death toll, restrictions to slow the spread of the virus have come at a significant cost to the country’s economy.
The easing of restrictions in Victoria, the second most populous state, will boost Australia’s economy, which is on track for its first recession in nearly three decades, as effective unemployment exceeds 13%.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the federal government has pledged about A $ 314 billion (US $ 231 billion) of economic stimulus, about 15.8 percent of GDP, and state governments will have to increase their spending, having promised less than A $ 50 billion.
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