Australian state reports record daily deaths from virus

By Recep Sakar

MELBOURNE (AA) - Australia’s Victoria state recorded 21 more deaths from the coronavirus over the past day, the highest single-day figure so far, authorities said Wednesday.

At a press conference in Melbourne, Victoria Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said 410 more people contracted the novel coronavirus in the state in the last 24 hours while a total of 21 people aged between 70 and 100 died from the disease.

The latest figure has taken the nationwide death toll to 352.

Sixteen of the 21 people who died from the virus were elderly care residents, while 476 aged care residents were transferred to hospitals due to the pandemic, Andrews said.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 740,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in Wuhan, China last December. The US, Brazil, India and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries in the world.

Over 20.2 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 12.5 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.