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Coronavirus: Peter Dutton has been diagnosed with COVID-19 virus

Cleaners in hazmat suits have descended on the Commonwealth Parliament Offices in Sydney, where Peter Dutton attended a meeting on Tuesday.

Ally FosterAlly Foster
@allyjfoster
4 min read
March 14, 2020 - 1:57PM
Peter Dutton has been diagnosed with the coronavirus

Cleaners in full protective gear have been spotted disinfecting areas of the Commonwealth Parliament Offices in Sydney, where Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton attended a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Dutton was diagnosed with coronavirus yesterday, just days after he met with Ivanka Trump and multiple high-ranking officials in the US.

Mr Dutton released a statement on Friday announcing he tested positive for the illness.

“This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat,” he said in a statement.

“I immediately contacted the Queensland Department of Health and was subsequently tested for COVID-19.

“I was advised by Queensland Health this afternoon (Friday) that the test had returned positive.

“It is the policy of Queensland Health that anyone who tests positive is to be admitted into hospital and I have complied with their advice.”

Mr Dutton said he feels “fine” and will provide an update soon.

The Home Affairs Minister recently returned from Washington DC where he met with his “Five Eyes” counterparts, an intelligence alliance comprising of Australia, the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand.

A picture uploaded to Twitter shows Mr Dutton smiling next to Ivanka and US Attorney-General William Barr, along with other members of the Five Eyes.

Mr Dutton met Ivanka Trump while on his visit to the US. Picture: Twitter
Mr Dutton met Ivanka Trump while on his visit to the US. Picture: Twitter

Mr Dutton also attended a cabinet meeting with Mr Morrison and a number of key ministers in Sydney on Tuesday.

Despite this, the Prime Minister’s Office has announced that Scott Morrison or any other members of the Cabinets will need to self-isolate.

“The Minister attended Tuesday’s meeting of the Federal Cabinet in person and Thursday’s meeting of the National Security Committee via video link,” the statement said.

In advice provided to the Prime Minister this evening, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer has reiterated that only people who had close contact with the Minister in the preceding 24 hours before he became symptomatic need to self-isolate.

“That does not include the Prime Minister or any other members of the Cabinet.”

Opposition health spokesman Chris Bowen, however, said the advice for the general public was that anyone who came into “close contact” with a coronavirus case should self-isolate for 14 days, and he questioned why the Government was taking a different approach.

“They should follow the public advice unless they’ve explained to the Australian people today why they’re not, or the public advice has changed,” he said.

“These things can’t all be right.”

Mr Bowen said the cleaning of the building called for an explanation from the Prime Minister.

“There is it appears some fumigation going on this building,” he said.

“If that is regarded as necessary, it seems to me to be at odds with the rather blase attitude that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet don’t need to be tested, don’t need to be self-isolated, can just go about their business.”

Dutton recently returned from the US before his diagnosis. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP
Dutton recently returned from the US before his diagnosis. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

Mr Dutton missed his regular weekly spot on Nine’s Today show this morning, with host Allison Langdon announcing he was sick with a “stomach bug”.

Earlier Scott Morrison announced that parliament would go ahead as planned after cautioning against mass gatherings from Monday.

“I would consider Parliament essential, and it certainly will be when it resumes at the federal level, because we will be passing the many measures that relate to the economic stimulus package, as well as the health response that we have articulated this week,” Mr Morrison told reporters this afternoon.

“I think there will be issues to work through between now and then regarding public galleries and things of that nature. That’s just commonsense planning, and that will be done, as I’d imagine many venues will do the same thing.”

WHAT DID DUTTON DO IN THE US?

Mr Dutton was in the US to finalise a deal with the White House to give Australian law enforcement better access to data held by US companies.

On March 5, he attended a high-level security meeting focused on online child exploitation with US Attorney-General William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, as well as security officials from the UK, Canada and New Zealand.

They included New Zealand’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Tracey Martin, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair, and the UK’s Minister of State for Security, James Brokenshire.

US counsellor Kellyanne Conway was also pictured with the group, along with Joe Grogan, an assistant to the US President.

Representatives from major tech companies were also said to be in attendance, as well as nine survivors of child sexual exploitation.

Ms Martin is now self-isolating and will be tested for the virus on Saturday, according to her spokesman. The results are expected on Sunday.

She told local media she did not recall shaking hands with Mr Dutton, but sat next to him for entire 90-minute meeting. He had not shown any symptoms at the time, she said.

It was not clear on Friday night whether any other attendees would be self-isolating.

OTHER US OFFICIALS IN QUARANTINE

Several US politicians have quarantined themselves in recent days after coming in contact with COVID-19 patients.

The Brazilian president’s communications director tested positive just days after meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Despite that, Trump has no immediate plans to be tested or self-quarantine, the White House said.

Mr Dutton returned from the US last weekend and on Monday opened a campus of Southern Cross University at Moreton Bay.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-peter-dutton-has-been-diagnosed-with-coronavirus/news-story/c348b5e70d1f3dfad523a5bf41f2c584