It has now been 21 days since Ballarat's first confirmed COVID-19 case and as yet, the hospital has not provided an update on the condition of any patient since that first day.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ballarat hit a milestone on Wednesday - the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients has stayed level at 10 for the past seven days.
However, Ballarat Health Services has refused to publicly announce if any of these cases have recovered, or been cleared of the virus, when asked by The Courier.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the hospital referred enquiries to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
"Patient confidentiality is paramount, so we won't be commenting on patient hospitalisation or recovery," they told The Courier.
Hospital representatives did not respond to a request asking just for recovery numbers.
READ MORE:
In Warrnambool, where six patients were confirmed to have the virus across the city's screening clinics, a South West Healthcare spokesperson confirmed to The Courier four of those people have now been cleared.
A DHHS spokesperson stated the department will not be releasing recovery rates by local government area, but pointed to the daily update from the Chief Health Officer.
Across all of Victoria, there have been 1212 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday.
The media release states 736 people across the state have recovered, and 12 people have died.
The total number of cases includes 635 men and 577 women. Cases range in age from babies to their early 90s, and 225 cases have been recorded in regional Victoria.
Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton reminded all Victorians to stay at home for the Easter long weekend.
"This is tough for many families, but no Easter holiday is worth a life. Stay at home, protect the health system, and save lives," he said in a statement.
"There is no doubt about it - physical distancing will save lives. I urge people not to look for loopholes but to follow the advice and do the right thing."
For more information on COVID-19, visit dhhs.vic.gov.au/novelcoronavirus or phone the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398 for advice if you are displaying symptoms.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.