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| Melbourne, the first city in Australia to enforce mask-wearing July 23, 2020. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders |
Australia reported its highest daily number of coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday while in the U.S. deaths rose by more than 1,100 for a second day in a row on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally.
Australia reported its highest daily number of coronavirus-related deaths in three months on Thursday as new infections continued to climb in its second most populous state.
Victoria state said it had confirmed another 403 infections, while five people had died from the virus in the last 24 hours.
The fatalities, including a man in his 50s, mark the countryโs biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 deaths since late April.
โThis demonstrates the growing toll this terrible virus is taking on our community,โ Health Minister Jenny Mikakos told reporters in the state capital, Melbourne.
With authorities unable to bring new infections below triple digits, residents in Melbourne and most of the state are now required to wear masks outside of their homes.
Nationally, Australia has recorded about 13,000 coronavirus cases with a death toll of 128.
The rise in new infections came after Australia began relaxing strict containment measures imposed in mid-March.
While the social distancing rules โ which limited mobility of residents and shuttered businesses โ slowed the spread of COVID-19, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said it has taken a heavy toll on the economy.
The government also reported its biggest budget deficit since World War Two on Thursday after committing to fiscal stimulus of around A$289 billion, or 14.6% of gross domestic product (GDP).
The budget swung into a massive deficit of A$85.8 billion ($61.3 billion) in the year-ended June 2020 compared with an earlier forecast for a surplus, Frydenberg said.
The shortfall will climb further next year, hitting A$184.5 billion in 2020-21.
โAustralia is experiencing a health and economic crisis like nothing we have seen in the last 100 years,โ Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra.
โOur economy has taken a big hit and there are many challenges we confront. We can see the mountain ahead.โ
Analysts expect the economy will rebound in coming months as life returns to some sort of normal, though much depends on whether authorities can keep a lid on new virus outbreaks in Melbourne and Sydney, its two biggest cities, a Reuters poll found.
Victoria has for more than two weeks required nearly 5 million people to stay home unless leaving for permitted essential reasons.
Residents who do not wear facemasks are liable to fines of A$200.
U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus rose by more than 1,100 for a second day in a row on Wednesday, including a record one-day rise in fatalities in Alabama, California, Nevada and Texas, according to a Reuters tally.
The United States has not seen back-to-back days with over 1,100 lives lost since late May. Weeks after cases began to surge, 23 states are now seeing fatalities also rise, according to a Reuters analysis of deaths for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks.
Deaths rose by 1,101 on Wednesday to a total of over 143,000 after climbing 1,141 on Tuesday. Total cases are nearing 4 million. The states with the most deaths on Wednesday were Texas at 197, California at 159, Florida at 140 and Ohio at 106.
While deaths are rising in the United States for a second week in a row, they remain well below levels seen in April, when on average 2,000 people a day died from the virus.
One hard-hit Texas county is storing bodies in refrigerated trucks after COVID-19 deaths doubled in the span of a week.
Hidalgo County, at the southern tip of the state on the U.S. border with Mexico, has seen cases rise 60% in the last week, according to a Reuters tally, with deaths doubling to more than 360.
Crematoriums in the Hidalgo County area have a wait list of two weeks, a local official said, forcing the county to use five refrigerated trucks that can hold 50 bodies each.
Among the 20 countries with the largest outbreaks, the United States ranks sixth highest globally for deaths per capita, according to a Reuters analysis.
REUTERS
