Coronavirus: Time to stop flights from China to Australia

As more Australian coronavirus cases are confirmed – including a man on the Gold Coast – it beggars belief that Australia is still taking flights from China, writes Peter Gleeson.

IT beggars belief that Australia is still taking flights from China, with the possibility of a deadly pandemic on our doorstep.

As more Australian coronavirus cases are being confirmed by the hour – including a man on the Gold Coast – Australia’s health authorities continue to allow flights from China.

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British Airways has suspended all flights to China and American Airways suspended Los Angeles flights to and from Shanghai and Beijing as efforts to contain the virus intensify.

Cabin crew from China Eastern Airlines at Brisbane International Airport this week. Picture: Darren England/AAP

Australians are justifiably upset and confused about the response to this coronavirus outbreak. In NSW, schools are banning students who have spent time in China over summer.

In Queensland, no such ban exists and it’s up to parents to do the right thing and self-isolate their kids for 14 days.

Surely we need a national approach to educational responses to these things? The prospect of Chinese people who have been exposed to the virus being able to come into Australia, despite the obvious risks, is mind boggling.

Where’s the leadership on this? This is a highly contagious virus that kills. People are catching it in Australia and the spread will only get worse unless we take a zero tolerance approach.

Yes, tourism will hurt. Yes, business will suffer. But the implications of a widespread contagious killer disease running rampant is not worth thinking about.

Can somebody close our borders to China? Quickly?