Victoria, on Monday, announced 41 Covid-19 related fatalities. The 41 deaths, surpassing Victoria’s deadliest day of 25 Covid-19 related deaths on August 17, came as a shock to many.
However, there is a valid explanation towards the shocking fatality numbers of Monday.
According to Premier Daniel Andrews, ‘only 8 of the 41 Covid-19 related deaths actually occurred in the last 24 hours’.
The other 33 deaths reportedly occurred in the previous weeks, and can be attributed to a change in the manner aged care facilities reported Covid-19 deaths.
According to ABC News, “In early August, the Commonwealth strengthened their reporting obligations to ensure the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre (VACRC), which has been set up to deal with the crisis in aged care, had accurate figures”.
The update came after aged-care facilities on Sunday reported those deaths to the health department.
Lowest number of new cases in 7 weeks:
Meanwhile Victoria announced reported only 73 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, the lowest single day spike since July 3.
The easing number of COVID-19 cases came as the state capital Melbourne began its fourth week of a six-week lockdown. Melbourne, amidst a Stage 4 Restrictions has residents confined to their homes, imposed a night curfew and has ordered large parts of the state economy to close.
The total lockdown is set to end on Sep 13, and with cases falling, state Premier Daniel Andrews said his government will on Sunday detail how restrictions will be slowly eased.
