NT Health Department puts action plan in order against Coronavirus

NT Health Department chief executive Dr Hugh Heggie has said the department has developed its own plan for how to deal with potential cases of coronavirus.

PILOTS travelling into Darwin Airport and other Australian airports will be briefed on containing possible cases of and how to treat at-risk patients.

NT Health Department chief executive Dr Hugh Heggie said local border security and biosecurity measures had already been upgraded.

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“We have a local plan at our airport and marine port, our biosecurity officer is meeting with and communicating with the captain of flights that they need to provide information to all passengers and all passengers are assessed for risk,” he said.

“That is someone taken to that part of China, that’s eastern China not southern China where Donghai flight comes from and to.

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“We have got our own local approach, if someone was identified as potentially having this illness we have a specific plan how they would be transported to hospital and taken to treatment.

Obviously you don’t want them to be sitting in a waiting room.”

Dr Heggie said people also needed to be aware if they hadn’t been travelling, given there had been cases of the virus transmitting through people.

“If somebody becomes unwell after they arrive back in Darwin they’ll be given very clear advice to seek treatment from professionals including general practitioners in Darwin, clinicians in Darwin and emergency departments in the NT,” he said.

“We need to be vigilant but not alarmed given what we know about the very small numbers we’ve had in Australia.”