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Australia’s coronavirus death toll rises to 70

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says he was not contacted directly by Hillsong pastor.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says he was not contacted directly by Hillsong pastor. Photo: AAP

Australia’s coronavirus death toll has jumped to 70 after four new deaths were announced on Saturday.

The latest death came at Sydney’s Newmarch home, where an aged-care resident passed away.

In Tasmania a 74-year-old man also succumbed to the infection in one of the nation’s hottest infection sites.

There have been 30 cases at the Newmarch aged-care facility in the suburb of Caddens in Sydney.

The death was confirmed by Anglicare COO Gavin Pretorius, who announced the new to families with relative at the facility.

“We are saddened to inform you that a resident of Newmarch House, who tested positive, passed away peacefully this morning. The resident’s family has been contacted, as have all the relevant authorities,” Mr Pretorius said.

“We would like to assure you that the staff are doing everything possible to care for your loved one.

“Please be assured of our prayers for you at this challenging time.”

Earlier, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said an 83-year-old and a 58-year-old had died overnight, bringing the state’s death toll to 28.

The total number of infections in NSW now sits at 2,936.

The 83-year-old man was a Queenslander who died while quarantining in Sydney after he was a passenger on the Celebrity Eclipse.

He is the sixth Queenslander to die from COVID-19 complications.

“That means there is a family in Queensland today grieving for the loss of a loved one,” Health Minister Steven Miles told reporters on Saturday.

There were eight new COVID-19 cases diagnosed overnight, bringing the total number of people infected in Queensland since the crisis began to 1014. Of those, 738 people have recovered.

Mr Miles said 271 people remain ill with the virus, with 22 in hospital. Nine people are in intensive care, seven on ventilators.

“As tragic as the loss of another life is, it reminds us of the effort we are all going to has already saved the lives of dozens of Queenslanders,” he said.

Earlier, Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein confirmed the death of a man in his 70s, bringing the state’s toll to eight.

The 74-year-old man was in the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie, Mr Gutwein said on Saturday.

“Eight deaths are eight deaths too many. And unfortunately there will be more. We need to ready ourselves for that,” he said.

It comes after a 72-year-old man died on Friday from the virus.

“We confirmed four new cases of coronavirus, all were related to the north-west of the state,” Mr Gutwein said.

He said they were seeing two very different situations in the state with the north-west experiencing an outbreak of the virus.

“We have to work very hard to contain and get on top of and we are taking every measure that we can,” Mr Gutwein said.

Two of those were healthcare workers and one was a former patient, he said.

He said police intercepted 700 vehicles in the north-west and the “vast majority” of people were doing the right thing.

But police would continue stopping vehicles, he said.

There were also 68 Tasmanians that had been released from hospital after they recovered from the virus, the state’s health minister Sarah Courtney said.

She also said testing capacity for coronavirus would increase three-fold in the weeks ahead.

The rise in cases brings the state’s total number of cases to 184.

-with AAP

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