‘Walk quickly’: Bizarre advice offered to Chinese students arriving in Australia as authorities scramble to stop the spread of the coronavirus
- Hundreds of Chinese school students will complete year 11 and 12 in Australia
- They are set to stay with Australian host families after touching down from China
- They’re being told to walk fast around the house during their two-week isolation
- They are also advised to use a separate bathroom from the rest of the household
- There are 389 Chinese students set to undergo year 11 and 12 courses in Victoria
- 153 will partake in school courses in NSW, with more scattered around Australia
Chinese students are being urged to ‘walk quickly’ to avoid spreading the deadly coronavirus.
Hundreds of Chinese high school students are set to stay with Australian families when arriving in the country to continue their year 11 and 12 courses.
They will spend two weeks in isolation after touching down, but are being told to walk fast around the house to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to their host family.
‘If the student lives in an apartment it is also safe for them to go outside into the garden while wearing a surgical mask,’ the quarantine guidelines said.
‘They should, however, go quickly through any common areas on the way to the garden. They should wear a surgical mask if they have to move through these areas.’
Travellers at Brisbane International Airport on January 29. Chinese students are being urged to ‘walk quickly’ to avoid spreading the deadly coronavirus
China has gone into lockdown after the virus claimed more than 2,700 lives (pictured, students in Beijing)
Last week the government lifted the travel ban, allowing Chinese students undertaking year 11 and 12 in Australia to enter the country in order to pass their courses.
But the relaxation of the rules still bans students from Hubei province in China, the epicentre of the outbreak, from entering Australia.
Around 760 Chinese students could be allowed into Australia if they are tested for coronavirus before leaving China and again when touching down here.
After this, they will be quarantined at home for 14 days before being allowed to go to school.
There are 389 Chinese students set to undergo year 11 and 12 courses in Victoria, and around 153 in New South Wales, with more scattered around other parts of Australia.
But under the Victorian Government’s quarantine guidelines, host families aren’t required to wear masks and don’t have to isolate themselves from the public.
‘Other members of the household are not required to be isolated unless they have also travelled to mainland China in the past 14 days, or have been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19. Other members of the household do not need to wear a mask at any time,’ Victoria’s Department of Health states.
According to Federal Department of Health guidelines, quarantined students are only required to wear a mask if symptoms develop.
They’re also advised to use a separate bathroom from the rest of the household.
So far 23 people in Australia have been diagnosed with coronavirus and all have been cleared.
Hundreds of Chinese high school students are set to stay with Australian families when arriving in the country to continue their year 11 and 12 courses
Eight of those cases were passengers who were on the Diamond Princess cruise.
Overnight on Thursday the World Health Organisation said the coronavirus outbreak, which began in China’s Hubei province in December, had reached a ‘decisive point’ and urged countries to redouble efforts to contain its spread.
It’s now affecting 47 countries, has killed more than 2,800 people and infected more than 82,500.
‘This virus has pandemic potential,’ WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned.