COVID-19 Australia: Epidemiology Report 26: Fortnightly reporting period ending 27 September 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2020.44.78Keywords:
SARS-CoV-2, novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19, acute respiratory disease, epidemiology, AustraliaAbstract
• The number of new cases reported nationally this fortnight was 278, a 67% decrease from the previous fortnight (841). On average, this represented 20 cases notified each day over the reporting period, a decrease from an average of 60 cases per day over the previous reporting period.
• 82% of all COVID-19 cases for the period (229/278) were reported in Victoria, with smaller numbers of cases reported from New South Wales (32), Western Australia (9), Queensland (6) and South Australia (2).
• In Victoria, 92% of cases (210/229) were locally acquired with known source, 7% (15/229) were locally acquired with unknown source, and 2% (4/229) were reported as under investigation.
• Excluding Victoria, there were 49 cases in other jurisdictions. Of these, 69% (34/49) were overseas acquired, 18% (9/49) were locally acquired, and 12% (10/49) were under investigation at this time.
• The continued decrease in new cases observed this fortnight in Victoria was the result of the public health interventions to minimise transmission.
• A total of 8 deaths were reported from cases diagnosed in this reporting period, all of whom were >75 years old, and all from Victoria.
• Although testing rates declined over the past month, they remain high at 10.4 tests per 1,000 population per week. There is variability in the testing rate by jurisdiction; the rate depends on the epidemic context.
• The overall positivity rate for the reporting period was 0.08%. Victoria reported a positivity rate of 0.18% for this reporting period, while in all other jurisdictions the positivity rate was 0.05% or lower.
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