New COVID-19 cases in Australia fall to record low

CANBERRA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- There had been 6,654 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia as of Thursday morning, an increase of only seven, or 0.1 percent, from 6,647 on Wednesday.

It is the fewest number of new confirmed cases in Australia since March 6.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country has achieved "good progress" in the fight against COVID-19.

Morrison told reporters on Thursday afternoon that Australia is "on the road back" to a "COVID-safe level" of economy as the spread of the virus continues to slow.

The death toll has risen to 74 but Morrison warned that the figure could increase significantly if Australians "are not careful."

"This can happen in Australia if we are not careful and that is why Australians and our governments have been so careful to balance the needs to get our economy back to a COVID-safe level."

Earlier on Thursday, Brendan Murphy, Australia's Chief Medical Officer, ruled out easing the government's international travel restrictions "in the foreseeable future."

An international travel ban has been in place for Australians since March 26. Murphy told a parliamentary inquiry into the government's response to the pandemic that any move to ease it would be "very risky."

"The international spread of this virus is huge, including to some countries where we know they're not ascertaining cases very well, including in our region," he said.