Two countries heralded as role models early in the pandemic marked vastly different milestones over the weekend. While New Zealand announced its 100th day without community transmission, Australia mourned a record daily death toll, after weeks of rising case numbers there.
In the Australian state of Victoria on Monday, authorities confirmed more than 300 new infections and 19 deaths over the last 24 hours. But despite the record number of fatalities, there were some hopes Monday that the peak of the outbreak might be over. The number of new daily cases in Victoria has been falling significantly since the middle of last week. The impact of a strict lockdown imposed on the states capital, Melbourne, more than a week ago is expected to show first results in the coming days, too.
We are now seeing the first promising signs of a significant decline in the number of cases, said Michael Kidd, Australias deputy chief medical officer of Australia.
The state has launched a so-called call-to-test hotline. Callers in need of a coronavirus test will be assessed by a nurse through that hotline and, with a [general practitioner] referral, we will go to them, according to Victoria state Health Minister Jenny Mikakos.
The program is designed for people who are particularly vulnerable to the disease or are unable to leave their homes for other reasons.
The rise in infections in Australia has come after months of relative success at keeping the virus at bay. Both Australia and New Zealand recorded few cases in the early phase of the pandemic, as the virus shut down large parts of Asia, Europe and later the United States.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns strategy of seeking to effectively eliminate the virus in the country appears to have been successful so far.
On Sunday, the country marked 100 days without community transmission. More than 20 people in the country are infected with the virus, but authorities say all of them are isolated and that there is no evidence of community spread.
One hundred days is a milestone to mark, but, again, we still need to be vigilant regardless, Ardern said.
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