Four more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in north west Tasmania as the state braces for a possible aged care outbreak.
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The state's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is now at 188 after four men tested positive in the last 24 hours.
They are aged between the 30s and 70s and three of them are healthcare workers who have worked at either the North West Regional Hospital or the North West Private Hospital.
The fourth man is a close contact of a confirmed case.
Meanwhile, tests are being processed through the night for 500 residents and staff of three nursing homes.
Everyone at East Devonport's Melaleuca Nursing Home, Ulverstone's Eliza Purton Home and Coroneagh Park in Penguin was tested on Friday after a healthcare worker who had done shifts in all three facilities tested positive for the virus.
Premier Peter Gutwein said on Saturday to brace for an outbreak across the homes and that families of those being tested would be 'waiting with baited breath'.
Tests are being processed overnight and the results are expected to be made public on Sunday.
Tasmania will triple its COVID-19 testing capacity in coming weeks.
The island state has entered into a partnership with the Commonwealth and pathology company Sonic Healthcare to boost testing capacity.
"If in doubt, test," a joint statement said.
A 74-year-old man died of coronavirus on Saturday, which brought the state's COVID-19 death toll to eight.
The Australian Defence Force re-opened the North West Regional Hospital's emergency department on Saturday after completing a deep clean of the entire hospital over a number of days.
Medics flown in from other states earlier this week will now run the hospital's emergency department while local staff complete two weeks of isolation mandated last weekend because of the outbreak.
Lamenting the latest coronavirus death in his state on Saturday, the Premier said, "we are taking every measure that we can".
He implored Tasmanian people to "stay home and save lives".
Tasmanian police said on Saturday evening they had spent the day patrolling the Frankford, Bass and Lyell highways, as well as suburban streets and business districts.
More than 300 vehicles have been stopped in the past 24 hours and police said they had found most people were "trying to do the right thing".
Australian Associated Press
