Q&A: Doctors weigh in on coronavirus

School closures, public messaging and cruise ships dominated debate on Monday night’s program, but a song stole the show.

ABC health reporter Norman Swan.

School closures, public messaging and cruise ships dominated debate on Monday night’s Q&A, but it was comedian Bridie Connell’s original song about love in the time of coronavirus that stole the show.

With no studio audience and three panel members (two of whom participated via video conference), Hamish Macdonald pledged his show would feature a live performance every week to keep enjoying “the great things in life” – but not before diving into the program’s questions.

The first asked what the federal government was doing to support 150 Australian stranded off the South American coast.

How will the government assist the 150 Australians stranded on a cruise ship off the South American coast? #QandA pic.twitter.com/Ix6bk3A5NG

— ABC Q+A (@QandA) March 23, 2020

Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the government was aware that health professionals were among those stranded on cruise ships waiting to return to Australia.

“I do know that DFAT is aware of the situation and amongst others are wanting to do whatever can be done to bring people back to Australia that want to come back,” Professor Kelly said.

The panel were asked why Australia continued to let swathes of passengers returning from overseas arrive without testing.

Why aren’t Australian airports testing the temperatures of people arriving home from all parts of the world? #QandA pic.twitter.com/kVACpSQdDh

— ABC Q+A (@QandA) March 23, 2020

Doctor turned medical journalist, Norman Swan, said the practice looked relaxed in comparison to strict social distancing measures recently announced.

“It's unsettled the public. And we talk about the borders, closing the borders, and people's experience of that has been different,” Swan said.

Doherty Institute director Sharon Lewin, whose team is working on treatment and a vaccine for COVID-19, said public health has traditionally relied on trust.

“At the moment it has been an issue of trust,” Professor Lewin said.

“I still am a strong believer that's the best way to practise public health, educating and empowering the public but we may need to increase the levels of observation because of the significance for all the community when people don't stay in self-isolation,” she said.

One point of contention between Swan and Professor Kelly was why an app had not been implemented to help track the spread of the virus and promote better public awareness.

The conversation also led Professor Kelly to reveal that the guidelines for testing coronavirus will be changed this week and that would “remove the traveller component”.

He said further details would be confirmed in the coming days.

Why are we not testing everyone who presents with flu-like symptoms? #QandA pic.twitter.com/ZEGOBqcckY

— ABC Q+A (@QandA) March 23, 2020

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick who was diagnosed with coronavirus also asked why the test criteria were so strict.

A question about school closures led Professor Lewin to describe the pros and cons of the measure, including that if schools were to close they would close “probably for the whole school year”.

While Swan called for schools to be shut, Professor Kelly only said that “it was one of our potential things we can do” to flatten the curve of infections.

Is it safe to swim in the ocean and exercise during the coronavirus infection period? #QandA pic.twitter.com/lf7mrzW7Hb

— ABC Q+A (@QandA) March 23, 2020

The next three questions related specifically to what kinds of activities are not allowed for people in quarantine, including “can I visit my grandkids?” and “can I go for a bush run or a surf?”, to which the panellists all responded with an unequivocal “no”.

The panel considered the effectiveness of Taiwan’s approach to managing the spread of COVID-19, with a reported 169 cases in a population of 23 million.

Stanford University policy strategist Jason Wang said Taiwan’s National Health Command Centre collecting health data to make and explain decisions to the public was one reason why the country so far has halted the spread of the virus.

The final question asked if the media was over-reporting infection and death-rates in particular countries, spreading fear and leading people to panic.

Has the reporting of COVID-19, which doesn’t focused on low mortality rates in Australia but instead the rising number of new cases, cause wide-spread panic? #QandA pic.twitter.com/4v5694fl6F

— ABC Q+A (@QandA) March 23, 2020

Connell’s song with the catchy chorus “Armageddon, Armageddon, Armageddon it on” finished the program on a high note.