Sumith Premachandra, 55, is the youngest person in Victoria to die of COVID-19

Source: Herald Sun

Family pays tribute as local transmissions rise

A 55-YEAR-OLD nurse working in the disability sector is Victoria’s youngest person to die of COVID-19.

Father of two Sumith Premachandra was remembered by grieving relatives as a “giant teddy bear” with a “gentle heart” who was working on the healthcare front line.

His family was at the hospital but could not be by his bedside when he died on Sunday.

“Our hearts are broken into a million pieces. He was the most charismatic, kind-hearted, generous, hilarious, loveable, godly and caring man you would ever meet.” his daughters, Sharyn and Gillain Gaetano, wrote in an online tribute.

“Our dad was a disability nurse, a healthcare worker on the front line, but for those of you who aren’t taking COVID-19 seriously, it may be hard not to see your friends and family at the moment but you can choose to isolate now, or potentially live with the heartbreak of losing them forever”.

Victoria’s death toll now stands at 10.

It comes as the state’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, warned thousands of Victorians could die if the state government relaxed its tough social-distancing measures.

The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria yesterday increased by 23 to 1158, with 45 in hospital, including 11 in intensive care.

Despite the number of new cases falling, authorities are concerned about a steady increase in local transmissions.

Professor Sutton said it would take at least another week before a proper trend in the data could be interpreted.

He said it was imperative tough social-distancing measures remained in force.

“If we break the rules now, we will change our future and we will have the kind of epidemic spike that Europe and North America have seen,” he said. “And that does not mean 30 deaths, that means 30,000 deaths.

“We have to make the sacrifices and take them seriously now because it will make a difference.”

Prof Sutton’s comments came as a wine bar in Melbourne’s northeast was linked to at least five cases of coronavirus.

Eaglemont Cellars and Wine Bar told patrons a birthday party on March 14 had been linked to positive diagnoses. Guests had come from overseas to attend the party.

The wine bar also held a St Patrick’s Day event on March 17, before venue restrictions were in place. It is now closed.

Across Australia almost 500 people are in hospital with coronavirus, just under 100 are fighting for life in intensive care wards and 35 are on ventilators.

Australian Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said some of the most serious cases were people in their 30s who had no underlying health conditions.

“I would stress that some of those people that are in intensive care are relatively young, so in their 30s,” he said. “This is not just an old person’s disease.”

Prof Kelly said COVID-19 could affect anyone.

“As has been seen around the world so far, the more cases you get, the more likely it is that you will find people without any vulnerability to start with and relatively young people having this disease very severely,” he said.

“This is a wake-up call for all of us.”