NSW Health has urged travellers returning to Australia to monitor themselves for signs of respiratory symptoms or fever as the emergence of community spread of COVID-19 presents new containment challenges.
Chief Health Officer for NSW Health, Kerry Chant said people returning from Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand should be on the lookout for symptoms.
“This advice is to protect the community and the health of individuals who have visited higher risk international destinations,” Dr Chant said.
She said the emergence of community spread of COVID-19 in multiple countries outside mainland China demonstrated how quickly it could pass from person to person and, because it can present as mild disease, how preventing its spread could be challenging.
“NSW Health has daily telephone conferences with the Commonwealth and other States and Territories to ensure a national process to assess the risk associated with travel and for developing consistent advice,” Dr Chant said.
“We have been prudently planning and regularly reviewing everything from Emergency Department and intensive care capacity, staff capacity and training and supplies of critical medical equipment to streamlining how we manage patients with acute respiratory illness,” she said.
“While the few COVID-19 cases in NSW to date have been mild, the global spread of the virus, coupled with flu season fast approaching, means the situation for our hospitals could change quickly so we’re asking everyone to plan now.”
Dr Chant said people who had been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 or returned from mainland China must isolate themselves for 14 days.
“I want to stress there is still no evidence of community transmission of COVID-19 in Australia” she said.
Further information on novel coronavirus can be accessed at this PS News link.
