coronavirus special
Nespolon pointed to the confusion
around which type of masks were
appropriate for GPs to wear as one of the
many failures of communication between
states and territories.
“We are also getting different advice
from the states and territories on the tests
for coronavirus and who should be taking
them. Should they be done by a GP in a
clinic, or should they be done in a hospital
in a negative pressure room?
“So, at a time when GPs are on
heightened alert and may be seeing more
patients than usual, we have the extra
burden of needing to call around to various
health agencies to work out what the
current advice is.”
Europe’s first large outbreak of the
virus, occurring in Italy, prompted officials
to cancel sporting events and stop
passengers travelling by train to and from
the country.
The number of cases of the virus in Italy
exploded from five to 152 with three deaths
in mid-February.
Roadblocks were set up in at least
10 towns in Lombardy at the epicentre of
the outbreak, to keep people from leaving
or arriving.
Buses, trains and other forms of public
transport – including boats in Venice –
were being disinfected, Veneto regional
governor Luca Zaia told reporters.
Museums were ordered to shut down
in Venice, as well as in neighbouring
Lombardy, which, with at least 110
confirmed cases, was the epicentre of the
viral outbreak in the country.
Italy is now in complete lockdown and
is seen as the worst-affected nation after
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus. Photo: AFP
South Korean nurse Him
Do‑yeon with sores caused by
wearing protective equipment
while treating COVID-19
patients. Photo: Ed Jones/AFP
China, with 63,927 cases and 6077 deaths
as of March 24. Italy has now surpassed
China with the most COVID-19 deaths.
FIRST AUSTRALIAN CASUALTY
By March, the first Australian death due to
COVID-19 occurred, and cases of the virus
were found in an aged care home.
James Kwan, 78, passed away in a Perth
hospital on March 1. He had been recently
airlifted from the Diamond Princess cruise
ship docked in Japan after an outbreak.
Shortly after, it was confirmed that
a 50-year-old woman working at a
BaptistCare aged care facility in Sydney’s
north had contracted the virus, and this
led to 11 residents being put into isolation.
Three have since passed away.
There have since been other cases
in residents and staff reported around
Australia, which has led to facilities
enforcing strict visitation rules, such as
allowing only two visitors per day and
barring non-essential outside workers from
entering facilities.
A positive COVID-19 presentation at
Brisbane’s Mater Hospital led to 15 staff
members, including 10 nurses, being
tested. All eventually tested negative to
the virus and have returned to work, a
spokesperson confirmed.
On March 11, the WHO officially declared
the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
Since then, countries such as the UK and
India – with populations of 66 million and
1.3 billion respectively – have announced
lockdowns, restricting any movement apart
from work and shopping for food and
medical supplies. By that point, terms such
as ‘social distancing’ and ‘self-isolation’ had
become part of the global lexicon.
AUSTRALIA’S RESPONSE
As of April 6, Australia had 5687 confirmed
cases of the virus and 35 deaths. It
had implemented strict congregation
restrictions while emphasising the
importance of social distancing (1.5m from
others) to flatten the curve and avoid the
‘pinch’ – the point at which there would
not be enough respirators for the patients
who need them.
Australia enforced restrictions on people
entering the country from China seven
days after the first case was confirmed
here. Anyone entering Australia who had
been in China within the previous 14 days
had to go to another country for a period
before entering Australia.
In comparison, the US stopped all arrivals
from China 11 days after its first confirmed
case; the UK enforced self-isolation on
arrivals from China on the same day it
announced its first confirmed case; and
New Zealand enforced self-isolation on
arrivals from China 25 days before it had
announced a confirmed case. Then it
banned any entries 15 days after its first
confirmed case.
Australia closed non-essential businesses
58 days after its first COVID-19 case, similar
to the US (56 days, though not all states)
and the UK (51 days) but behind New
Zealand, which acted within 25 days.
Wuhan has announced an easing of its
lockdown measures 62 days after they
were announced and after five days of no
newly confirmed cases.
People are now allowed into Wuhan if
they are healthy and without fever, and
residents can leave their isolation and
return to work if they have been tested for
COVID-19 and are free of symptoms. ■
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