COVID-19 | Australia recorded a further 17 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday but infections in the hard-hit state of Victoria, the site of all the latest deaths, are showing a downward trend, authorities said on Sunday.

Other than in Victoria, which accounts for over 80 percent of Australia’s Covid-19 deaths due to a second wave of infections, the country has largely avoided the high casualty numbers of many nations with about 24,500 infections and 502 deaths.