Australia’s Victoria state reported a locally acquired COVID-19 case for the first time in more than two months on Tuesday, sending authorities searching for the source of the infection.
A man in his 30s, who recently returned from overseas and had completed his hotel quarantine in South Australia state, tested positive for the virus on Tuesday morning, authorities mentioned.
The infected person began developing flu-like symptoms over the weekend after reaching Victoria last Tuesday, the health department mentioned in a statement. It was not immediately clear when he finished his hotel quarantine.
Australia closed its borders to all however residents and permanent residents in March 2020 and abroad arrivals, except New Zealand, should go through a two-week hotel quarantine at their own expense.
Virus-exposed places are being recognized, whereas close contacts of the person have been requested to undergo tests and self-isolate.
Neighbouring New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state, reported no new regionally acquired COVID-19 cases for a fifth straight day on Tuesday as authorities hunt for a missing link in a new infection chain reported last week.
NSW last Wednesday reported its first local case in more than a month after a man in his 50s tested positive, tracing the infection back to a returned traveler from overseas.
However, officials haven’t but located the transmission path between them, raising issues that the virus could be spreading in the community through undiscovered cases.
The case of the unidentified Sydney man, who later passed the virus on to his wife, prompted authorities to extend social distancing restrictions and mandatory masks in public transport within the greater Sydney area, house to more than 5.3 million residents, till May 17.
Australia’s hardline approach to rein in COVID-19, with measures including curbs on gatherings, snap lockdowns, and speedy tracing systems, has helped keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low. It has reported just over 29,900 cases and 910 deaths since the pandemic began.
