Updated January 29, 2020 18:50:43
A second case of the potentially deadly coronavirus has been confirmed in Victoria, bringing the number of cases nationally to six.
Key points:
- The latest case, a man in his 60s, is in isolation at home
- The man had travelled to Wuhan City and became ill two days after returning to Australia
- He had visited Glen Waverley restaurant The House of Delight while he was unwell
Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton today said the second case was a Victorian resident aged in his 60s who became unwell on January 23.
The man had travelled to Wuhan City in Hubei Province and first became unwell more than two days after returning to Australia.
The news of a second confirmed case comes as federal health authorities asked all people who have had any contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus to isolate themselves in their homes for 14 days.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee also wants all passengers who have returned from Hubei province to isolate themselves for a fortnight.
The man was assessed at the Monash Medical Centre after he first went to his general practitioner.
Dr Sutton said the man had since returned home, where he and his family were now in isolation and being monitored.
While some have exhibited symptoms, none have returned a positive test yet.
Two of the family members are children who have been excluded from school.
"The man was mostly at home and had isolated himself when unwell but he had gone out to a restaurant called The House of Delight for a short period of time," Dr Sutton said.
The man attended the Glen Waverley restaurant between 5:30pm and 7:00pm on Sunday.
"That restaurant has been followed up with and those who were there at the same time, whose contact details we have, we are following up with," Dr Sutton said.
"But obviously that restaurant is OK to go to now. People don't need to avoid that area or indeed anywhere else people have been, even if infectious at the time."
Anyone who was at the restaurant at the time should be aware of symptoms, and contact 1300 651 160 for advice.
Victoria recorded its first case of the novel coronavirus on Saturday.
That case, a man in his 50s, remains in isolation in the Monash Medical Centre in a stable condition.
The latest diagnosis brings the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Australia to six: four in New South Wales, and two in Victoria.
Dr Sutton said the results of tests on 14 more Victorians were still pending while 61 people who were initially suspected of having the virus had come back with negative tests.
He said the total number of people coming to Australia who had recently been to Wuhan was unclear.
"We can't know for sure those individuals who might have started their journey in Wuhan," he said.
"We will only know the number of people who are on flights from China on a daily basis."
A Victorian Health Department media release said there was no current evidence that passengers or crew on the flight that the man took to return to Melbourne are at risk.
Victorians and visitors returning from Hubei Province or other locations in China with cases have been advised to closely monitor their health.
Anyone who develops symptoms of fever and breathing difficulty or cough within 14 days of travel to Hubei Province or who has had contact with a confirmed case should seek medical help immediately, providing information about their travel history.
More to come.
Topics: health, government-and-politics, diseases-and-disorders, infectious-diseases-other, respiratory-diseases, melbourne-3000, glen-waverley-3150, china
First posted January 29, 2020 17:16:00