Coronavirus update: Victoria calls in military to assist amid soaring cases

With the coronavirus resurgence in Australia’s second most populous state of Victoria picking up pace, the country’s Defense Minister Linda Reynolds announced that they are deploying 1000 additional defense officers to Melbourne to assist with the state's soaring new infections.

This comes especially after Victoria recorded the first Australian death in a month.

Key quotes

"We will have approximately 850 providing logistical support, and also providing quarantine support at hotels."

"About 200 logistics and medical personnel will also assist with the testing regime across Victoria."

"That agreement is through until the end of July but we will keep working closely with the Victorian Government to see what more might be required."

Victoria records 33 new COVID-19 cases this Thursday, the largest number in two months. Of the 33, 7 are hotel quarantined, 9 linked to known outbreaks, 6 routine testing and 11 are under investigation.

The state reported 20 new infections on Wednesday, bringing the number of community transmissions to 241 and more than doubling its active cases in the past week to 141.

In light of this, Health officials have started patrolling six hotspots across Melbourne to ensure residents are sticking to government guidelines.

Market reaction

AUD/USD has bounced-off low near 0.6850 but still remains pressured amid rising virus concerns and US-China trade tensions. The spot sheds 0.12% to now trade at 0.6863.