Coronavirus deaths in Australia increases to 12; infected cases nearly 2,800

Australian health authorities on Thursday said the deaths due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country has touched 12 with the demise of three elderly persons while the total number of infections has risen to nearly 2,800.

The state of Victoria recorded the deaths of three men in their old age diagnosed with deadly coronavirus in the last 24 hours taking the total number of fatalities due to the deadly coronavirus infection to 12.

"All the three men who died in the state were in their 70s and had pre-existing health conditions," Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.

According to Australian health officials, the situation was being taken seriously and so far 178,000 tests were performed in the country and the testing capacity was also increased to 10,000 a day.

The total number of infections in the country so far was hovering around 2,800.

"Till Thursday afternoon, the total number of infected people stood to 2,793," health officials said.

In New South Wales, the total confirmed cases reached 1,219 while the state health authorities announced that two children under 10 years have tested positive to the virus.

Meanwhile, according to a latest survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), almost half of the Australian businesses have said that they have experienced an adverse impact as a result of pandemic.

The survey said the worst hit were the hospitality and food services sectors.

The deadly coronavirus that first emerged in China's Wuhan city has drastically spread around the world, infecting 471,518 people and causing 21,293 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker.