Coronavirus: 4 cases confirmed in Australia, Scott Morrison says they had been anticipated
Health officials plead with people who think they may have the virus to come forward as four cases are confirmed in two states.
Four cases of the deadly coronavirus have been confirmed in Australia, as authorities scramble to contact passengers who shared flights from China with the patients.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said there had been a total of four confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia so far -- three in Sydney and one in Melbourne.
“The four patients I believe are all in a stable condition in isolation in hospital,” Professor Murphy said.
Three men tested positive to the respiratory condition in NSW on Saturday, state health authorities confirmed.
The men, aged 35, 43 and 53, have been isolated in hospital to prevent the virus spreading further.
The NSW Health department has confirmed a fourth potential case of coronavirus is under investigation in the state.
“Preliminary test results have shown the above case currently under investigation has tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus,” the department said in a statement.
“Confirmation is expected tomorrow.
“Public health follow-up of this probable case is being undertaken in accordance with the national guidelines and the patient remains in isolation.”
It comes after another man, aged in his 50s, tested positive in a Melbourne hospital after arriving from the Chinese city of Guangzhou on January 19.
Nine people in Queensland have returned negative results for coronavirus, with authorities on Saturday still waiting on results from another possible case. Four people in South Australia were also being tested but authorities said it was unlikely they actually had the virus, while a Hobart man has tested negative for coronavirus after he was admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital on Saturday with mild respiratory symptoms.
The department said four other cases which were being investigated on Sunday had been cleared of the infection.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said two of the men from the confirmed cases had travelled to Sydney directly from Wuhan, a 53-year-old on January 20 and a 43-year-old two days prior. The third man, aged 35, arrived from the southern city of Shenzhen on January 6.
Only the 53-year-old man is thought to have been contagious while travelling to Australia. He flew to Sydney on China Eastern flight MU749, and authorities are obtaining details of other passengers on that flight.
“Each of these gentlemen had some connection with Wuhan,” he told reporters on Saturday night. “Please be aware that we do now have coronavirus here in Sydney. If you’ve got symptoms, ask yourself whether you’ve come in recent weeks from China, particularly from Wuhan.”
Mr Hazzard said the state’s health department had done everything possible to identify and contain the virus.
“Public health authorities have taken all the major steps, and these cases are now in isolation in one of our major hospitals and are getting world-class treatment,” he said.
The three infected patients deserved to be thanked for coming forward, Mr Hazzard said.
“I’d like to thank each of these three people because they have been exemplary in the way that they presented themselves,” he said.
“We are taking a very precautionary approach and making sure they are in an environment where we can keep them under close observation.”
Professor Murphy says it’s likely there will be more cases of the coronavirus in Australia, following confirmation of the four cases.
“There is no cause for general concern,” Prof Murphy told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.
“I would not be surprised if there are some more cases ... it’s highly likely that we may see them some more.
“We are incredibly well prepared to isolate and deal with that.”
Chinese authorities had confirmed more than 2000 cases worldwide, including 56 deaths.
“Nearly all of those deaths are in the Hubei Province, which includes the city of Wuhan,” Professor Murphy said.
“That province has been the focal point of this infection, but we do know that there have been more than 40 cases exported to other countries and there have been cases seen in other provinces in China.”
Professor Murphy said the risk of people who may be incubating the virus travelling to Australia had lowered since Chinese authorities had prevented travel in and out of Hubei Province.
“However, because people could have left the province before the lockdown and could have come to Australia via a number of flights we are now meeting every flight from China and providing the passengers with an information sheet, asking them to identify themselves where they’re unwell on the flight, but also to identify if they become unwell, particularly with fever or cough and other respiratory systems after they have been in Australia,” he said.
“If any of those people have the relevant travel history or have been in contact with someone in this position gets those symptoms, we want them to call ahead to their GP or their emergency department and go and be tested.
“The chances are they won’t have this condition, but the really important thing in Australia is simply identifying and being able to isolate people with this virus.”
Professor Murphy said passengers sitting within two rows of the coronavirus patients on the flights from China had been contacted by NSW and Victorian health authorities and were most at risk of having contracted the virus.
He said others on the plane were at much less risk but were also being contacted as a precaution.
Professor Murphy said there was “no available specific treatment” for coronavirus, other that treating secondary complications, providing oxygen for those who develop pneumonia and managing secondary complications.
“The advice from China is that a significant number of the people who’ve died have had other illnesses,” he said.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was working closely with Chinese authorities and international partners to consider possible travel assistance for Australians in Hubei Province and elsewhere who had been affected by Chinese travel restrictions put in place to limit the spread of coronavirus.
“Given the circumstances of the spread of the coronavirus, Chinese authorities are currently imposing very tight restrictions on all travel from Hubei,” Senator Payne said.
“We are seeking advice from the Chinese authorities on these restrictions and whether any options are available to international travellers.
“Our embassy in Beijing and our consulate in Shanghai are also working with international partners and the Chinese government to determine what support can be given to Australians on the ground. Australia does not have a consular presence in Wuhan.
“Australians who believe they have family in the affected area should contact DFAT’s consular emergency line on 1300 555 135 in Australia or +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas.
“We also recommend travellers subscribe for Smartraveller updates at www.smartraveller.gov.au.”
First Australian case confirmed
The first confirmed Australian case involved a man who had been in Wuhan, the city of 11 million people at the epicentre of the outbreak.
He flew from Guangzhou to Melbourne on China Southern Airlines flight CZ321 on January 19.
The man has pneumonia and is in a stable condition in isolation at the Monash Medical Centre.
Passengers from the same flight are being contacted as a precaution, while all arrivals from China are being stopped at airports and given information about symptoms and what to do if they feel unwell.
“He did not show any symptoms whilst he was on the flight so it’s possible he wasn’t contagious but there’s a lot we don’t know about this virus at this point,” Victoria’s Health Minister Jenny Mikakos told reporters. The man had taken precautions by phoning ahead and wearing a mask to his GP and then the hospital, where he was admitted on Friday.
In NSW, two of the men travelled to Sydney from Wuhan and the third from China’s southeastern Shenzhen.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said it was a matter of when, not if, the virus would arrive in Sydney. She confirmed one man arrived in Australia on January 6, another arrived 13 days later and she was yet to confirm travel details for the third man.
Fifty-six people have died from the coronavirus in China with more than 2000 confirmed cases.
The illness has been confirmed other countries including Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, France and the United States.
Australians are being urged not to travel to Wuhan or China’s Hubei province. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has listed the virus as having “pandemic potential”. This allows for enhanced border protection measures. Experts are still learning about the virus and Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says it’s important people arriving from Wuhan, as well as those in close contact with them, look out for symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, vomiting and difficulty breathing.
“We don’t know exactly how long symptoms take to show after a person has been infected but there is an incubation period and some patients will have very mild symptoms,” Prof Murphy said.
PM: ‘We’re taking this incredibly seriously’
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the confirmation of cases in Australia had been expected and procedures were in place to manage the situation.
In Victoria, a Chinese national aged in his 50s – who had been in Wuhan and presented to a GP in Melbourne on Thursday – has been confirmed as Australia’s first case of coronavirus.
“The confirmation today by Victorian authorities of the coronavirus case was a matter that had been anticipated,” Scott Morrison said on Saturday.
“The Australian government is of course taking this issue incredibly seriously.”
The infected man in Melbourne arrived on flight CZ321 from Guangzhou to Melbourne at around 9am on January 19 and authorities are racing to track down the patient’s fellow passengers.
He has pneumonia and is in a stable condition, being treated in a negative pressure isolation room at Monash Medical Centre.
“I do want to stress there is no reason for alarm in the general community,” said Victoria’s health minister, Jenny Mikakos.
“We have had flu epidemics in the past, including SARS and our system is geared up to deal with this situation.”
China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020
The man had been staying with family and had not been out and about, which minimised the risk to the broader community, Ms Mikakos said.
In Queensland, one person is being assessed in Brisbane for the virus after four others were given the all-clear on Saturday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade overnight raised the level of travel advice for Wuhan and Hubei province to “do not travel” while the disease is now listed as having “pandemic potential” allowing border measures to be enhanced. Passengers arriving on all flights from China are now being stopped and provided with health information about the virus, its symptoms and what to do if they become unwell.
“Even as we speak, our border authorities and biosecurity authorities will be ensuring that those flights from China will be met by those officials,” Mr Morrison said.
“We have the people and we have all the procedures that are now swinging into place.”
The federal government said it was well-equipped to deal with a surge in the number of patients after a cluster of new cases were confirmed in France, the US and Japan, with experts warning the virus is now spreading “faster than SARS.”
Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, said there were “likely to be more cases” outside of China after the US confirmed a second case of the virus, and European authorities confirmed the flu-like virus had arrived in France with three cases detected, one in Bordeaux and two “close relatives” in Paris.
Authorities in China expanded a travel lockdown on Saturday to include 12 major cities near the outbreak’s epicentre in Wuhan – effectively penning in 35 million residents – as they desperately try to contain the spread of the virus.
Additional reporting: AAP
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