CANBERRA: Australia has recorded 26 new coronavirus cases overnight mainly due to COVID-19 clusters at a Sydney nursing home and a Melbourne abattoir.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said on Wednesday the daily increase was larger than has been usual in recent weeks.
But he is confident health authorities are quickly getting on top of the clusters at Newmarch House in Sydney and Cedar Meats in Melbourne.
The death toll at the nursing home has reached 16. There have been 49 infections linked to the abattoir, but no fatalities.
The Australian government plans to announce on Friday a relaxation of lockdown rules to get more people back to work.
Australia has recorded 6,875 cases and 97 fatalities in a population of 25.5 million.
There have been 688,000 virus tests conducted, equivalent to one test for every 37 people.
Meanwhile, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday Queen Elizabeth II is pleased that the coronavirus has not shut down Australian horse racing.
Morrison said the monarch of both Britain and Australia had initiated a telephone conversation overnight to discuss the pandemic, Australian drought, and Australia's recovery from recent devastating wildfires.
Morrison told Sydney Radio 2GB: "She understands drought issues and rural issues really well and she was terribly interested in that. And she was particularly happy to know that the races were still running."
Horse and greyhound racing are among the few sports to continue in Australia after pandemic lockdown rules prevented mass gatherings and unnecessary travel.
The 94-year-old monarch owns and breeds racehorses.
Wildfires across Australia's drought-stricken southeast during the Southern Hemisphere summer killed at least 33 and destroyed more than 3,000 homes.