Coronavirus COVID-19 emergency plan has been activated by the Government. Here's what that means for you
Posted about 28th Feb 2020 at approx 2:48pm
Yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the rapid spread of virus outside of China had prompted his Government to elevate Australia's response.
"We believe the risk of a global pandemic is very much upon us and as a result, as a government, we need to take the steps necessary to prepare for such a pandemic," Mr Morrison said.
So, what does the emergency plan mean for you?
How does the plan affect me?
At this stage, the activation of the Government's emergency health response plan doesn't change a whole lot for the general public.
"At the individual [level], nothing changes, principally because we don't have further cases at the local community level," said Dr Kamradt-Scott, an associate professor at the University of Sydney.While the health sector is now working to adequately prepare for a potential COVID-19 outbreak, things are business as usual for the rest of us, health security expert Adam Kamradt-Scott said.
So far, there has been no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus in Australia, with all of the people infected here having recently been in China or in contact with someone there.
"In Australia, the coronavirus has been effectively contained … so even though the Government has enacted the emergency response plan, nothing substantially changes for the everyday person at the moment."
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt reinforced that message today, after meeting with his state and territory counterparts at a special COAG pandemic meeting.
Mr Hunt said although the global spread of coronavirus meant there was now a "high likelihood" COVID-19 would reach Australia at some point, there was no need for people to panic.
"Our message is that we are prepared for that moment because we are not immune, but it is very important to go about your daily business," he said.
When will things change?
Things will start to change if we see evidence of community transmission in Australia — whereby coronavirus cases emerge that have not come directly from overseas.
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