The death toll from Melbourne’s thunderstorm asthma event has risen to eight, The Guardian reported.
On Tuesday the Department of Health and Human Services said two more people had died, while another patient remained in a critical condition and was receiving specialist care.
Hospitals are continuing to treat seven people for a variety of respiratory and related conditions after the thunderstorm on Monday last week.
The thunderstorm saw extreme winds and air moisture break up pollen particles into pieces small enough to enter peoples lungs.
Emergency services and hospitals were overwhelmed. Paramedics dealt with an unprecedented 1,900 emergency calls in five hours that evening as the phenomenon swept the state.
At one point there were 140 code-one cases occurring at the same time. Melbourne hospitals across Monday and Tuesday treated more than 8,500 patients.
Four of the victims have been named as Noble Park father-of-two Clarence Leo, 35-year-old Apollo Papadopoulos, law student Hope Carnevali, 20, and year 12 student Omar Moujalled.
On Sunday, the Victorian government announced $500m package to improve ambulance services and a wide-ranging review to examine how Ambulance Victoria and other emergency services responded to the incident. It will be led by the inspector general for emergency management.