Troops to help Australia state in virus tracing

The premier of Australia's coronavirus hot spot, the state of Victoria, says the military will be used to bolster contact-tracing efforts, as he announced 300 more cases and six deaths due to COVID-19. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Friday that if someone who is a newly diagnosed coronavirus case does not answer after being telephoned twice, soldiers will accompany a health official to the infected person's home for a contact-tracing interview on the doorstep.

Anyone who is not at home will likely be fined for failing to quarantine while awaiting a negative test result. Previously, failure to contact an infected person by phone was not followed up with a house call. Victoria reported an Australian record 484 new infections on Wednesday, 403 on Thursday and 300 on Friday. Andrews cautioned against interpreting the declining numbers after a second daily reduction in new infections. He said the decline in new cases came amid similar daily numbers of testing.

"On today's numbers, I think it's best that we simply note that that number is a lower number than it was yesterday, but again no-one should be, I think, moving towards trying to provide definitive commentary that we've turned corners or we're at a peak or any of that," Andrews said.

The reported six new deaths were all in aged care homes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra the country's National Cabinet made up of states and territory leaders agreed to reaffirm the suppression strategy to control the virus.

"The goal of that is obviously, and has always been no community transmission," he said.

Mask wearing became compulsory Thursday in Victoria's capital of Melbourne, which is Australia's second-largest city.