OUT OF VIRUS DANGER ZONE
A GROUP of 243 Australians, including 89 children, is expected to start arriving on Christmas Island today after being safely evacuated from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China.
After being delayed for five hours on the ground by medical checks and Chinese officialdom, the chartered Qantas 747 arrived in Western Australia last night, carrying Australians citizens and permanent residents.
They arrived at Learmonth RAAF base, near Exmouth, about 7pm and were set to be flown to Christmas Island on a fleet of smaller aircraft.
From today, they will be held in the near-empty Border Force Christmas Island detention centre for two weeks’ quarantine.
Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, said they would be housed in family units not mingle.
This was designed to stop the infection spreading in the event one of the group was ill but not showing symptoms.
“If they are contacting each other, they would need to wear protective things like a mask,’’ he said.
“The risk … for transmission is very low. The major risk is people who are unwell.”
In encouraging signs, no new cases of the virus were reported in Australia yesterday, with the number of confirmed diagnoses steady at 12.
But Prof Murphy said that the global toll continued to grow, with 362 deaths — all but one in China — and 17,348 infections, of which 181 were outside China.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the evacuation had been a “very complex process”.
“As we foreshadowed, we have prioritised vulnerable and isolated Australians which is reflected in the fact that 89 of the Australians on the flight … are under 16 and that includes five under two,’’ she said.
She said Qantas had takensupplies to leave in Wuhan to support efforts to beat the virus, including face masks, protective suits, goggles and gloves.