Coronavirus live news: Australian state of Victoria reports 216 new cases as France exceeds 30,000 deaths

San Quentin prison in US has seven deaths and 1,500 positive tests; Serbia has record 18 fatalities; Australia caps incoming flights and charges for quarantine

As Victoria, Australia, has just announced new cases in the hundreds, the state’s health minister Jenny Mikakos has moved to reassure people that the health system is prepared for the ongoing struggle to contain the virus.

With 216 new cases confirmed overnight, Mikakos said; “As a government we have never hesitated to put in the resources that are needed to support our efforts in this pandemic”.

They have been working since January to respond to this pandemic. Even when the numbers came down, they never paused in their efforts. They are well-resourced and well trained to respond. We have ventilators in our warehouse. We have medical equipment in our warehouse and being distributed to our health services all the time, and personal protective equipment... 32 million masks are sitting in our warehouse as we speak.

I take this opportunity to reassure the community that our hospitals remain safe for them to visit. They should not hesitate to present to our emergency departments if they need that support or to call for an ambulance... Please do not put off your regular [health] screenings. If you get contacted by one of our cancer services for your biannual, regular checkup, please continue to take up those opportunities. It’s very important people do not defer medical treatment.

The premier of the state of Victoria, Australia, has announced 216 new cases of Covid-19 and one death as the state grapples with a second wave of the virus as the rest of the country has the virus largely contained. The man who died in hospital was in his nineties.

Premier Daniel Andrews just told reporters; “This is not an ordinary weekend. It is anything but that. You’ve got to be in your home if you are in the metropolitan Melbourne or Mitchell Shire areas, and only for those four reasons.” Those reasons are for healthcare and other essential services like groceries, exercise, work and study [if they can’t be done fro home], or childcare.

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