Australia records second COVID-19 death as case numbers climb

A 95-year-old woman who passed away in Australia this week was tested positive for coronavirus, health authorities said on Thursday, as the total death toll in the country rose to two.

The woman was among the residents of an aged care facility in Sydney who contacted the pandemic disease with an infected nurse, with two other elderly residents also testing positive for the disease, Xinhua news agency reported.

New South Wales (NSW) chief Health officer, Dr. Kerry Chant said it was expected that more COVID-19 cases could be confirmed at that facility in the coming days.

A total of six new cases were confirmed in NSW on Thursday, taking the total number there to 22, and 52 overall in Australia.

One of the newly infected patients was a doctor working at a Sydney hospital, who had no recent history of overseas travel but had been in contact with a number of patients and staff.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said that the doctor attended a radiology seminar last month before she was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday.

A 53-year-old male doctor diagnosed with COVID-19 this week also attended the conference along with around 77 other medical professionals.

"NSW Health has been working very hard to try to contact each of those doctors and other attendees of the conference, so far it has been positive, nobody else is showing any symptoms of coronavirus," Hazzard said.

The spread of the disease in Australian hospitals and nursing homes has caused particular concern as these facilities appear to be more vulnerable to the severe effects of the virus.

Testing has been conducted at a childcare facility near the nursing home where the 95-year-old woman died, to determine if children who were part of a recent visit were responsible for bringing the virus in.

Visits by children and students to nursing homes is common in NSW, however health officials said they are advising all visits be stopped until further notice.

"For the ultimate prudence we are advising that these visits of groups of children is curtailed at this time," Chant said.