UTAS PREPARES FOR POTENTIAL PANDEMIC
THOUGH the coronavirus has not yet reached pandemic status, Tasmania is starting to prepare for what’s to come.
In an email sent to staff and students last week, University of Tasmania vice chancellor Rufus Black said their preparations for a coronavirus pandemic were advancing.
A university-wide team had been working on a range of scenarios since January. Prof Black said. “We have plans in place, we are wellprepared and we have the necessary resources at hand.
“We have sound plans to operate the university and operate safely should the virus come to be part of our community. But we may have to do it a little differently.”
The university was ready to respond through a range of measures such as stricter hygiene protocols, social distancing, working from home, and the greater use of online teaching, Prof Black said.
“Our response to getting teaching online for students still in China shows that, with the right resolve and ingenuity, we can rapidly deliver important change to support our staff and students in highly variable circumstances,” he said.
A new clinic has been established in Launceston to meet increased demand for testing following the news of Tasmania’s first known case.
Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said 66 people had been tested, all negative.
The mobile clinic, supplied by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, is close to the emergency department of the Launceston General Hospital, and more clinics are expected to be established soon.
Anyone who believes they may need testing, particularly anyone feeling unwell who was at Woolworths on the corner of Wellington and York streets between 10pm and 10.15pm on March 1, should contact the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.
So should anyone who was on Virgin flight VA1368 from Melbourne to Launceston on February 29, on which a 40year-old coronavirus patient was a passenger. Close contacts of the man are being monitored for any symptoms.
Tasmanians who have been to China, Iran, Italy or South Korea should self-isolate for 14 days.