CANBERRA: The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection has hit triple digits in Australia.
The Australian Department of Health revealed that as of March 10 morning, there have been 100 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. Australia witnessed a jump of 20 cases in one day, as till Monday, the authorities had reported 80 cases.
According to Xinhua, 22 patients out of the total 100 have recovered post-treatment.
New South Wales (NSW) has been the worst hit with 54 cases, four times more than any other state.
Health Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday lauded the community efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus at a press conference.
Australian authorities are currently not planning a dramatic lockdown like Italy as the cases of transmission between the communities is low.
"If we had more sustained community transmission, then we wouldn't hesitate to make recommendations about public gatherings, schools and the like," Xinhua quoted Brendan Murphy, chief medical officer, as saying.
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the novel coronavirus belongs to the family of zoonotic viruses that spread from animals to humans.
The symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus include running nose, sneezes, and coughs while in severe cases respiratory problems, shortness of breath, kidney failure or even death.
The deadly virus which originated in Wuhan, China, has affected more than 105 countries and has infected 110,137 people globally with nearly 4,000 deaths.