COVID-19 "less infectious in children": Australian health authority

Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has confirmed that children are less likely to spread coronavirus than adults.

Kelly told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that the scientific evidence indicates that "children in general are not as much of an issue in terms of this virus."

"It is absolutely clear now that it is less infectious in children. Children are less likely to spread the virus between each other, or even from children to adults," he said.

"They are less likely to be infected and they are less likely to have severe infection and very, very rarely does that end up in intensive care and the more severe end of the spectrum."

As of Wednesday there had been 6,875 cases of COVID-19 in Australia, with 97 deaths.

The number of cases linked to Cedar Meats, a meatpacking facility in Melbourne, has grown to 49, prompting calls for an inquiry.

Authorities in New South Wales have confirmed that an outbreak at the Newmarch House aged care facility in western Sydney, which has claimed 16 lives, started when an infected carer worked six shifts at the facility despite exhibiting mild symptoms of COVID-19.

"Both of those outbreaks have been quite complex," Kelly said.