Coronavirus: testing rules clarified as handshakes banned

The Chief Medical Officer says cabinet colleagues in contact with Peter Dutton last Tuesday are not required to undergo testing.

Hours before Scott Morrioson announced he would no longer shake hands, Professor Brendan Murphy said people could shake each other’s hands but that would change if there were more community transmissions. Picture: AAP

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has been forced to clarify who is required to be tested for coronavirus, as Scott Morrison ­declares Australians should no longer be shaking the hands of family members, friends, colleagues and strangers.

After Labor called for clear and consistent messaging about when to get tested, Professor Murphy said federal cabinet ministers who had been in contact with Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton last Tuesday did not need to be checked ­because they had been with him more than a day before he showed symptoms.

Mr Dutton returned from the US last Sunday and only began ­experiencing coronavirus symptoms on Friday, after having met his cabinet colleagues on Tuesday.

Queensland Health established the relevant time for contact with Mr Dutton was Wednesday.

“In our published series of ­national guidelines, which is the public health advice the entire country has been using, we define close contact as someone who has been in contact with someone who is symptomatic at any stage or up to 24 hours before,” Professor Murphy told the ABC’s Insiders program. He said the disinfection of parliamentary offices, where cabinet had met, was done out of “an abundance of caution”.

Advice from an airline to fellow travellers on Mr Dutton’s return flight from the US to self-isolate was “overcautious”.

The Prime Minister on Sunday announced he would no longer be shaking anyone’s hands, in line with expanded social distancing advice for all Australians.

Hours earlier, Professor Murphy had said people could shake each other’s hands but that would change if there were more community transmissions.

“The social distancing practices that we’re encouraging are being expanded, so there’s no more handshakes,” Mr Morrison said.

“That is a new move we’ve moved to. That’s something that I’ll be practising.”

Professor Murphy also said a recommendation from Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton to store two weeks of food supplies was “a little bit premature at the moment”.

“For most people we don’t want to encourage major panic buying at the moment. We’ve seen that with the supermarket chains. But I think it is probably sensible to have a few days of supply,” Professor Murphy said.