NSW health authorities investigate possible case of deadly coronavirus

NSW health authorities investigate whether person has contracted deadly coronavirus just hours after plane from Wuhan landed in Sydney

  • New virus from China has killed 17 people and spread to at least five countries 
  • NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said one person was being tested  
  • No details about the age or location of the person were released 

Health officials are investigating if a person in New South Wales has caught a deadly new coronavirus spreading from China.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said one person was being tested and doctors will know soon if they have the virus or another infection such as a common cold. 

No details about the age or location of the person were released. 

In a press conference at 3pm, Dr Chant said there may be more cases to investigate.

The passengers from China Eastern flight MU749 were wearing masks as they made their way through Sydney Airport’s arrivals hall 

A captain of the flight is pictured walking through arrivals. No one will be allowed to enter or leave Wuhan, a city of 11 million in China's Hubei province, as one of the country's busiest travel seasons surrounding the Lunar New Year kicks off.

Flight crew were seen walking through the arrivals hall with masks and gloves, with one pictured in the background wearing dark-shaded sunglasses to cover his face

The flight captain (left) and other flight staff (right) were seen walking through the arrivals hall after getting off the plane 

She said: ‘We have one case that is currently under investigation. We are able to rapidly undertake testing of cases that come to our attention and either exclude or confirm those cases in a very short time frame. 

‘Whilst we are announcing today we have one case under investigation, that number will obviously change, it may change by the time I go back to the office, and so that number will be a revolving number. 

‘What will be most important to update you on is confirmed cases.’

Experts fear the new coronavirus, which is not yet named, may already be in Australia even though no-one in the country has been officially diagnosed. 

In an interview with Daily Mail Australia on Thursday morning, Dr Raina McIntyre, professor of global biosecurity at UNSW, said: ‘It is possible that someone who is incubating the infection but is not yet ill is in the country.

‘People can be incubating the disease and not have fever when they enter the country.’

It comes after hundreds of passengers today arrived in Australia from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the new deadly virus which is spreading around the world.

Passengers from the final flight from Wuhan - the epicentre of the coronavirus - are seen walking through arrivals at Sydney Airport on Thursday

Passengers from the final flight from Wuhan – the epicentre of the coronavirus – are seen walking through arrivals at Sydney Airport on Thursday

The passengers were screened in China before they boarded and, when their aircraft landed, they were asked by the pilot to declare if they felt unwell. Pictured: Children at Sydney Airport wearing masks

The passengers were screened in China before they boarded and, when their aircraft landed, they were asked by the pilot to declare if they felt unwell. Pictured: Children at Sydney Airport wearing masks

NSW Health had a team of four nurses and doctors, who wore masks but not full HAZMAT suits, at the airport to interview anyone who had cold-like symptoms before they went through customs. Pictured: Children at Sydney Airport wearing masks

Pictured: Children at Sydney Airport wearing masks

NSW Health had a team of four nurses and doctors, who wore masks but not full HAZMAT suits, at the airport to interview anyone who had cold-like symptoms before they went through customs. Pictured: Children at Sydney Airport wearing masks

Passengers from China Eastern flight MU749 were wearing masks as they made their way through Sydney Airport’s arrivals hall just before midday after a 10-hour night flight on an A332 plane that can hold 234 people. 

The flight was one of the last to leave the city of 11million before a quarantine was put in place and all outbound trains and planes were cancelled. 

The passengers were screened in China before they boarded and, when their aircraft landed, they were asked by the pilot to declare if they felt unwell.

NSW Health had a team of four nurses and doctors, who wore masks but not full HAZMAT suits, at the airport to interview passengers and ask them if they had any cold-like symptoms before they went through customs.

The passengers were also screened by thermal imaging to check their temperatures – and given leaflets in English and Mandarin telling them to see a doctor if they suffered sweats, breathing difficulties or chills.

A plan was in place to take any passenger suspected of being infected to Westmead Hospital – but nobody was found to be sick. 

Medical staff check the body temperature of passengers as they arrive at a railway station in Yingtan City, Jiangxi province, China as part of precautions regarding the virus outbreak

Medical staff check the body temperature of passengers as they arrive at a railway station in Yingtan City, Jiangxi province, China as part of precautions regarding the virus outbreak

The flight's cabin crew are pictured walking into arrivals. Workers at the Sydney Airport information desk said they had been told by their bosses not to speak to the media under any circumstances

Flight crew wore gloves as they walked through the airport

The flight’s cabin crew are pictured walking into arrivals wearing gloves. Workers at the Sydney Airport information desk said they had been told by their bosses not to speak to the media under any circumstances

This is the leaflet that passengers were given when they landed in Australia after flying from the Chinese city of Wuhan

This is the leaflet that passengers were given when they landed in Australia after flying from the Chinese city of Wuhan

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK?

A total of 532 people are confirmed to have caught the unnamed coronavirus, which has never been seen before. Seventeen patients have died.

Most of the cases have occurred in Wuhan, a city in Hubei province home to 11million people. But patients have been diagnosed across China, including in Beijing and Shanghai.

The coronavirus, which is from the same family as SARS, has also spread to South Korea, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan.

Chinese officials yesterday confirmed the virus has spread between humans, suggesting it can be passed through coughs and sneezes.

The outbreak is believed to have started late last month among people connected to a seafood market in Wuhan, which has since been shut.

China is entering its busiest travel period due to the Lunar New Year, which sees many people travelling back to their home town or village.

Virologists fear the increased travel that will happen over the holidays will cause a surge in cases. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk