The first local case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Victoria, and health authorities warn it’s “highly likely” that there will be other cases in Australia.
Per an official statement from Victoria’s department of Health and Human Services:
“The man in his 50s, a visitor from China, is in a stable condition with the respiratory illness. He was confirmed as positive at 2.15am today following a series of tests. The patient is being treated in an isolation room at Monash Medical Centre Clayton in accordance with recommended infection control procedures.”
Interviews with the patient determined that he arrived in Australia on the morning of January 19, on a flight from Wuhan to Melbourne via Guangzhou.
The first leg of his journey was on CZ3706 and he came into Melbourne on China Southern Airlines flight CZ321. It is feared that others on his flight may be diagnosed with coronavirus.
Health authorities say that passengers who travelled the same route will be contacted.
Victoria’s Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos took to social media a short time ago to announce:
“We have confirmed a case of the 2019 novel coronavirus in Victoria – the first in Australia. There is no need for the community to be alarmed, our health system is well prepared to manage infectious diseases.”
https://twitter.com/JennyMikakos/status/1220894024829001729
China has confirmed 1,287 cases of patients infected with the new coronavirus as of January 24, while the death toll has risen to 41.
So far, there are confirmed cases in China, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, the United States, France and Australia.
