SYDNEY (Reuters) – New daily coronavirus infections in Australia’s hotspot state Victoria have fallen to a near four-month low, authorities said on Friday, as other states recorded only imported cases raising the prospect of more domestic borders reopening.
The state of Queensland flagged it may open its border with the country’s most populous state New South Wales (NSW) from Nov. 1, if NSW records no local cases for 28 days. NSW has posted six straight days of no local cases.
The second most populous state Victoria said seven people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 15 on Thursday and near the four-month low of five cases reported on September 28.
The decline in COVID-19 cases comes nearly two months after Victoria imposed a stringent lockdown across its state capital, Melbourne.
The bulk of restrictions will only be eased when the average for new daily cases over a two-week window falls below five.
The 14-day rolling case average for Melbourne is now down to 12.8, after falling from 15.6 on Thursday.
Victoria accounts for 90% of national COVID-19 deaths. Australia, with 890 fatalities, has fared far better than many other developed countries.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Michael Perry)
