Australia to set up pop-up coronavirus testing clinics
Jamie Smyth reports from Sydney
Australia is spending an extra A$2.4bn ($1.6bn) on health services, including setting up 100 ‘pop-up’ testing clinics and a new telephone health advice service, in response to the spread of the coronavirus.
It is also introducing a travel ban on all non residents seeking to travel to Australia from Italy, as the rate of infections continues to increase in the European nation, Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister said on Wednesday.
Canberra has already banned non residents who have travelled through China, South Korea and Iran in the last 14 days from entering Australia.
The 100 “pop-up” respiratory clinics are designed to take the pressure off hospitals, which have been inundated by people seeking tests for the coronavirus.
Australian authorities have appealed to people to only seek testing if they have travelled overseas or come into contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the virus.
Australian states have already begun establishing pop up clinics, including a drive-through testing clinic in Adelaide that can receive a patient every 20 minutes.
A telehealth system is being established to provide people in home isolation or quarantine with advice via telephone or video streaming services such as Skype or Facetime.
Seoul mayor raises concern over new virus cluster
By Edward White
South Korea has reported 90 new coronavirus cases linked to a call centre in Seoul, the city’s mayor said Wednesday, potentially reversing the country’s falling rate of new infections seen over the past week.
South Korea on Tuesday reported its fourth consecutive day of declining new coronavirus cases in the latest sign health officials are bringing one of the world’s worst outbreaks under control after weeks of mass testing.
Daegu, South Korea’s fourth-biggest city has been at the heart of the country’s outbreak with the vast majority of the country’s cases to date.
But the comments from Seoul mayor Park Won-soon in a radio interview on Wednesday morning, raised concerns of a fresh outbreak hitting the sprawling capital’s 25m residents, nearly half the South Korean population.
The Korea Centres for Disease Control on Tuesday morning reported 131 new cases, the lowest since February 25.
The total number of infections is now above 7,500, with more than 50 deaths. Officials have run more than 210,000 tests with around 10,000 tests carried out each day.
Australian central bank chief warns of hit from China disruption
Jamie Smyth reports from Sydney
Australia’s central bank has warned a delayed return to work in China due to the coronavirus would dent the local economy but said a combination of monetary and fiscal stimulus should enable it to bounce back once the virus is contained.
Guy Debelle, Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor, said on Wednesday there is still significant disruption to the Chinese economy following the prolonged shut down over its lunar new year holiday. It is very uncertain how long it will take to repair severe disruption to supply chains, he said.
“The straight arithmetic of losing a substantial amount of output over a period of several weeks implies a significant hit to economic activity,” Mr Debelle said in a speech.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner and a collapse in student numbers and tourists from the country, with inbound airline capacity slumping 90 per cent from China, is forecast to subtract 0.5 per cent of growth from gross domestic product in the March quarter.
Mr Debelle said it was too uncertain to assess the impact of the virus beyond the March quarter. But he said there was no indication of disruption to exports of iron ore or coal at this stage and prices remained resilient- a factor that should support exports.
Mr Debelle said a government stimulus package, which is due to be announced this week, and record low interest rates would support the economy.
“The combined effect of fiscal and monetary policy will help us navigate a difficult period for the Australian economy. They will also help ensure the Australian economy is well placed to bounce back quickly once the virus is contained,” said Mr Debelle.
