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 had 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.
(AP)
