One million masks released as Australia reviews coronavirus response
Dana McCauley,
Rachel Clun and
Melissa CunninghamJanuary 29, 2020 — 12.54pm
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced 1 million masks will be released from the national medical stockpile, as the government reviews its response to the coronavirus outbreak after reports it could be transmitted without symptoms.
The masks will be distributed on Wednesday through local public health networks to general practices and pharmacists in areas where stocks had been depleted by the bushfire response, Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
It comes after worried GPs
called for "urgent" assistance to replenish their stocks of P2 and surgical masks as they prepared to deal with an influx of suspected coronavirus cases.
Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said an urgent meeting of all expert groups would "reconsider whether our medical advice should be changed" when it met on Wednesday afternoon to evaluate the veracity of two cases of human-to-human transmission outside China by patients who had not yet developed symptoms - one in Germany and the other in Japan.
"The normal advice has been with these viruses that you need to be symptomatic to be infectious," he said.
The flu-like coronavirus has now killed 132 people, mostly in China, and as of Wednesday morning had 6,000 confirmed cases.
People wear face masks as they wait at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan last week. Credit:Getty Image
Health minister Greg Hunt said there were 21.5 million masks in the national health stockpile, comprising 12.5 million P2 masks and 9 million surgical masks, which were "the appropriate masks for this particular type of action", and that "if more are required, more will be provided".
Professor Murphy said the general public was not advised to wear masks, which were only recommended for patients with the relevant travel history and symptoms and the doctors assessing them.
"We have only five confirmed cases in Australia. There is no evidence of human-to-human transition in Australia," Professor Murphy said.
Brendan Murphy is considering changing the health advice on coronavirus after reports of transmission without symptoms.Credit:Jason South
"The Australian public should go about their business, reassured that the risk to them is extremely low."
He said Australia was "well prepared" to deal with the outbreak if more cases were confirmed, with state and territory health authorities equipped to "isolate people as necessary and manage them". A number of patients were tested for the coronavirus in recent days.
Victoria's chief medical officer Dr Brett Sutton said the state's health authorities were using similar hospital and ambulance procedures to those used for other highly infectious diseases such as measles and influenza.
"Isolating people who have coronavirus is pretty straightforward for us," Dr Sutton said.
Masks, gloves, aprons and goggles were used by staff treating patients with suspected coronavirus, he said, and isolation rooms were used "as appropriate".
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said special measures were being taken to ensure all hospitals and emergency departments were well prepared for potential cases of the new coronavirus.
Dr Chant said the state's hospitals would not be testing every patient who had fallen ill after travelling to China, but were focussed on people who had been to Hubei province, where the coronavirus is believed to have originated at a market in the city of Wuhan.
Those who developed a "severe respiratory illness" after wider China travel would also be tested, she said.
"We’re monitoring that situation every day," Dr Chant said.
"I know it’s frustrating as our messages change, but assure you we do monitor the epidemiological situation in China."
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Harry Nespolon welcomed the government’s decision to distribute P2 masks to GPs.
"There is already a shortage of masks due to the bushfires and we don’t know if infections will continue for days or weeks ahead," he said.
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