CANBERRA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Australia remains "on track" to have domestic borders open by Christmas, Health Minister Greg Hunt has revealed.
As of Monday afternoon, there had been 27,602 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, and the number of new cases in the last 24 hours is eight, according to the latest figures from the Australian government Department of Health.
New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, reported seven new cases, six of which were reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine. And one was locally acquired and linked to a known cluster.
Victoria, the hardest-hit state by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, recorded no new cases.
"This is the third day in a row where Victoria has recorded zero daily cases or deaths," said a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria on Monday.
Hunt told reporters in Canberra on Sunday that as confidence is built "we want to see those borders opened as quickly as possible."
"I think there are no Commonwealth decisions and no AHPPC (the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee) or the medical expert decisions as to the closure of internal borders in Australia," he said.
"What we're seeing is with continued low numbers in Victoria and New South Wales, the case for one single internal national bubble is growing."
"And I think today is another zero case in Victoria which is just fantastic news for people in Victoria, but fantastic news for the whole country, means that we are on track to the Prime Minister's goal of a country which is internally open before Christmas.
