MELBOURNE — Australia reported a sustained fall in new coronavirus infections and conducted the biggest peacetime maritime operation on Sydney Harbour on Saturday, refuelling foreign cruise ships before expelling them from local waters. Confirmed cases rose by 198 over the 24-hour period to Saturday afternoon, bringing the national total to 5,548, health ministry data showed. The death toll from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, rose to 30. "What I really would caution against is thinking we have got through this completely, because we definitely have not," Deputy Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said in a televised briefing. "We really have to be hypervigilant now."

Source: International New York Times April 04, 2020 07:18 UTC