The Australian state of Victoria recorded 30 new coronavirus cases in the last day, marking the 10th consecutive day of double-digit case growth in the state.
The state government today announced a new testing program in a bid to contain the outbreak: For the next 10 days, residents of 10 suburbs will receive free tests, regardless of whether they show symptoms or not.
At a press conference on Friday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted that “the curve remains flat”, despite local outbreaks in Victoria.
“They are tracking the contact of more than a thousand people,” added medical director Brendan Murphy. “That’s the way to control a localized outbreak: go where the problem is, participate in the population test, isolate, quarantine, the standard public health response.”
Australian military troops will help with the tests in Victoria, but the troops will not enforce the quarantine as originally requested by the state government, Morrison said.
On Monday, Victoria extended her state of emergency to July 19.
At least 1,947 cases of coronavirus and 20 related deaths have now been reported in Victoria. Of the total cases, 1,742 patients have recovered from the virus.
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