Australian capital confirms first COVID-19 case

CANBERRA - The first COVID-19 case was reported in the Australian capital Canberra on Thursday.

According to Andrew Barr, chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory, a man in his 30s became unwell on Tuesday.

"I regret to inform Canberrans that we have our first case of COVID-19 in the territory," Barr said at a press conference.

A report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that the man has not been overseas in the past a couple of weeks.

"We are expecting more in the coming weeks," Barr said, while urging the Canberrans to "minimize the spread of the virus" by practicing good hygiene.

Also on Thursday, Hollywood star Tom Hanks and his wife, who are in Gold Coast, tested positive for the COVID-19.

"Rita and I are down here in Australia," said Hanks. "We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too ... We were tested for the coronavirus, and were found to be positive."

So far Australia has recorded over 110 cases of COVID-19, and the diagnosis of the two Hollywood heavyweights takes the total number of confirmed cases in Queensland to at least 20.