50 more Aussies on new mercy flight from virus epicentre
ANOTHER batch of stranded Australians are preparing to evacuate from the epicentre of the coronavirus in China to New Zealand, with more than 200 evacuees now quarantined on Christmas Island.
None of the arrivals have shown signs of having the deadly virus, but they will spend 14 days away from the mainland to try to ensure they pose no health risk.
There have been 241 people transferred to the island.
A pregnant woman and her partner are in isolation in
Perth as there are no maternity facilities on the island.
Another 50 Australians are expected on an Air New Zealand charter flight from Wuhan to Auckland that is due in NZ late today.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said 14 passengers from the first evacuation group were “looked at more closely to ensure they were in an acceptable condition” before being cleared, and two were “tested as a precaution”.
“The advice from the AUSMAT team on the ground is they … regard the likelihood, or the probability of coronavirus in that case as being minimal, but nevertheless, they being tested,” he said.
Mr Hunt said a second Ausare tralian-organised flight out of Wuhan would prioritise the young, elderly and family members.
The first full day of the Christmas Island quarantine operation was punctuated by wild weather, with the first plane of evacuees landing amid lightning and rain.
Specialist doctors and nurses are monitoring the evacuees, who flew from Wuhan on a Qantas flight.
The trip to Christmas Island took about 24 hours, including a stop at Western Australia’s
RAAF Base Learmonth, near Exmouth.
Mr Hunt said it was likely the Australians heading to Auckland would be taken to Christmas Island.
Foreign travellers who have left or passed through China will be denied entry to Australia to limit the spread of the virus.
There have been 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia — in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia — and more than 20,600 cases and 426 deaths globally.