Australian authorities are conceding it's become impossible to keep out new coronavirus cases after the country recorded its first person-to-person transmission of the COVID-19 strain.
The sister of an infected man recently returned from Iran and a health worker, both in Sydney, were confirmed on Monday as the first locally-acquired infections.
The 53-year-old male health worker - thought to be a doctor - hadn't travelled for many months and it's unclear how he contracted the virus.
© AP
The world is reeling from continued spikes in new coronavirus cases in multiple countries.
He is in a stable condition and "going quite well", the NSW government says.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it still wasn't clear if the man had infected others after becoming contagious.
NSW Health Ministry and the local health districts are busy talking to various people he might have come into contact with.
"We are making sure we get in contact with them and make sure they don't have symptoms," the minister told Today.
Pictures: Coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Coupon sale: Save 15% off items with this codeAd eBay.com.au -
-
-
-
-
-
Catch a bargain with cheap groceries and bulk buysAd Catch.com.au -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
China has been battling an outbreak of a new SARS-like coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which originated in Wuhan. The virus has claimed over 1,000 lives in mainland China – far surpassing the death toll during the SARS outbreak in 2003 – and infected over 43,000 people around the world. The Chinese government has allocated $144 million to combat the virus. The country and several of its cities are under a travel lockdown as other nations try to contain the spread of the virus, with major airlines suspending their service from and to the Asian nation. Outside of China, the Philippines reported the first death on Feb. 2, 2020, and Hong Kong on Feb. 4. The other 25 countries and regions infected by the novel coronavirus are Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, U.K., U.S. and Vietnam. On Jan. 30, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency.
(Pictured) A man in protective gear waits to evacuate residents from a public housing building in Hong Kong on Feb. 11.
Members of the media stand near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 11.
People wear masks as a precautionary measure at the Seoul railway station in South Korea on Feb. 10.
A resident wearing a protective face mask looks on at Patan Durbar Square in Patan, Nepal, on Feb. 10.
A Malaysian Royal Guard wears a protective mask as he stands guard outside National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 10.
A woman walks past a sand sculpture depicting people wearing protective masks with a message reading 'Fight against coronavirus, we stand with China' made by Indian artist Sudarsan Pattnaik at Puri beach in Odisha, India, on Feb. 10.
Tourists wearing face masks visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 10.
People wear protective masks as they wait to cross the street in Hong Kong on Feb. 10.
A worker wearing a protective suit carries a fogging machine as others prepare to disinfect a business establishment in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 9.
A passenger wearing a mask walks outside the Shanghai railway station in China on Feb. 8.
Workers produce protective clothing at a factory in Wuxi, China, on Feb. 8. The factory, which previously produced suits and sportswear, switched to production of protective clothing as demand increased due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Family members of passengers from the cruise ship World Dream docked at Kai Tak cruise terminal, wave on shore in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. The cruise ship with approximately 1,800 passengers remained quarantined in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on Feb. 8. Several passengers from mainland China on a previous World Dream cruise were found to have the new coronavirus on returning home.
A Hindu devotee wears a mask as she carries a milk pot on her head at a shrine in Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 8.
French Health and Solidarity Minister Agnès Buzyn leaves after attending a meeting about the situation of the n-CoV 2019 coronavirus, in Paris, France, on Feb. 8. The minister said that five British nationals including a child have tested positive for the new coronavirus in France.
Tourists wearing face masks line up near a departure gate at the airport in Bali, Indonesia, on Feb. 8. Thousands of Chinese tourists are reportedly stranded in Bali following suspension of all flights to and from China.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to the media during a press conference on the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. Lam said that the government has bought 48 million masks and received 17 million more from China to counter the shortage of masks in Hong Kong.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has his temperature checked during a visit to a clinic in Gyeonggi, South Korea, on Feb. 8.
People wearing masks walk in a subway station in Hong Kong on Feb. 7.
People look on from the quarantined cruise liner Diamond Princess, in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 7. About 64 passengers from the ship have tested positive for the virus. Another ship, the World Dream, has been docked and quarantined at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. It has 3,600 passengers and crew on board.
Flight attendants wearing protective clothing and masks serve snacks to Canadians, who had been evacuated from China due to the outbreak of novel Coronavirus on an American charter plane, on another aircraft taking them to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton from the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Feb. 7.
Nurses check the temperature of visitors at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 5.
Joe Parisi, Dane County executive, discusses the first confirmed case of coronavirus in a Wisconsin resident as Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway looks on during a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin, on Feb. 5.
Workers in protective gear are seen on Japan Coast Guard boats in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 5, bringing patients from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Workers wearing protective gears spray disinfectant on a street at Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 5.
A public health ministry nurse measures the temperature of a passenger arriving from France, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Feb. 4.
Employees wearing face masks are seen at a hotel near Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 4, where people who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, are quarantined as a preventive measure.
Sylvie Briand, director of infectious hazard management department at the World Health Organization (WHO), attends a press conference on the coronavirus in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 4.
Beds are set up at an exhibition center, which was converted into a hospital, in Wuhan on Feb. 4.
This handout photo released by Malaysia's Ministry of Health shows citizens being directed onto a bus by health officials as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia in Feb. 4.
People wear face masks as they go about their daily lives in Singapore on Feb. 4.
Medical workers hold a strike outside the office of Hospital Authority in Hong Kong, as they demand the closure of borders with China, on Feb. 4.
A nurse checks the temperature of a visitor as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 3.
Police walk past signage before the arrival of Myanmar students, who were evacuated on a chartered flight from Wuhan, at the international airport in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Feb. 2.
Members of the Association for Sri Lanka and China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC) hold candles during a vigil to pray for people who are suffering from coronavirus across the world, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 1.
German Minister for Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (R) and German Minister for Health Jens Spahn give a joint statement in Bonn, Germany, on Feb. 1, on the evacuation of more than 100 German citizens from Wuhan following the coronavirus outbreak.
Arnaud Fontanet, director of global health department at Institut Pasteur, speaks during a news conference over the latest findings on coronavirus in Paris, France, on Jan. 31.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, and Didier Houssin, chair of the emergency committee, at the opening of the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee for Pneumonia due to the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV in Geneva on Jan. 30.
Medical staff with protective clothing are seen inside a ward specialized in treating people who may have been infected with the virus, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital in Chennai, India, on Jan. 29.
Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference at the United Nations, in Geneva, on Jan. 29.
Passengers arriving on flights wear protective masks at the international airport in Auckland, New Zealand, on Jan. 29.
Students disinfect their hands before entering class at a school in Phnom Penh, on Jan. 28. Cambodia's health ministry reported the country's first case of coronavirus on Jan. 27.
A woman wearing a protective mask prays at the Lungshan Temple on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 28.
Paramilitary officers wearing face masks stand guard at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, on Jan. 27.
Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer of Ontario (C), speaks as Dr. Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health for the city of Toronto (L) and Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, during a press briefing on coronavirus at Queens Park in Toronto, Canada, on Jan. 27. The Ontario health officials announced the confirmation of the first case of coronavirus in Toronto, along with a presumptive second case of the virus in the city.
Images captured by a thermographic imaging device to check the temperatures of arriving passengers at a quarantine station are seen on a monitor at the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, on Jan. 26.
A security force member stands in front of the pandemic center where a suspected case of coronavirus is under observation at Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Jan. 26.
A banner placed by Indian health workers is seen during a coronavirus information camp for travelers at an India-Nepal border crossing, near Siliguri, India, on Jan. 26.
(L-R) Sabine Hagenauer of the infection department at the 4th medical department of Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital, Michael Binder, medical director of the Vienna Hospital Association, and Judith Aberle of the department of virology, Medical University Vienna, address a press conference at Kaiser-Franz-Josef hospital in Vienna, Austria, on Jan. 26. A Chinese flight attendant was quarantined in the hospital with symptoms of flu, in what authorities suspected as the first coronavirus case in the country.
A health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station in Beijing, on Jan. 25.
Dozens of diggers work to build a new hospital in Wuhan, on Jan. 25. Due to the large number of infected people, the government decided to establish a temporary 1,000-bed hospital.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a press conference in Hong Kong on Jan. 25. Announcing a citywide virus emergency, Lam ordered the cancellation of all official trips to mainland China and school shutdown till Feb. 17.
Security personnel wearing hazardous material suits measure body temperatures of passenger at the entrance of a subway station in Beijing on Jan. 25.
A disinfection worker wearing protective gear sprays anti-septic solution in a train at SRT train station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.
Sanitation workers spray a disinfectant at Suseo Station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.
A passenger holds up an Australian Government document pertaining to the coronavirus as passengers arrive at Sydney International Airport in Australia on Jan. 23.
Locals wear face masks while browsing in a store ahead of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, on Jan. 23, 2020. A day earlier, Taiwan stopped sending tour groups to, or receiving tour groups from Wuhan, China, due to concerns over the cornonavirus outbreak.
Passengers arriving from China are screened at Kolkata International Airport, India, on Jan. 22, 2020. Screening centers have been set up in the Indian cities of Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin apart from three airports at Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to screen for the coronavirus.
People walk next to signage detailing hygienic practices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at the Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 21.
Australian chief medical officer Professor Brendan Murphy earlier issued a sobering warning for the community stating "it's no longer possible to absolutely prevent new cases coming in".
Efforts are now focused on quickly isolating newly infected people, dissuading Australians from heading to virus hotspots, and in the case of Iran using a travel ban to slow down that route of infection.
And NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard urged people to stop shaking hands and instead opt for a pat on the back.
"No hand-shaking," he said. "It's very automatic but don't do it."
Australia has now had 33 confirmed cases: 15 Chinese tourists or residents who had visited China, 10 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, six people who recently returned from Iran and the two cases acquired in Sydney.
Fifteen of the cases have been cleared.
Australia recorded its first coronavirus death on the weekend when James Kwan, 78, died in a Perth hospital.
He and his wife were among evacuees from the Diamond Princess, with both falling ill after being taken to Darwin for two weeks in quarantine.
© AP
More than 86,500 people worldwide have now been infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus strain.
Tasmania also reported its first case of coronavirus on Monday, a 40-year-old man recently returned from Iran.
The federal government is looking at strict new powers under biosecurity laws which could be used to detain coronavirus-positive people.
Attorney-General Christian Porter says the government could bar people and large groups from attending public places and authorities would be able to quarantine an entire building similar to the Japanese government's approach to the Diamond Princess.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Greg Hunt said Canberra had imposed a travel ban on arrivals from Iran on the advice of chief medical officers.
Prof Murphy said it was a different situation in Iran where alarm bells had been ringing after more than 50 deaths from about 1000 cases.
"We had a very high index suspicion that the caseload in Iran was much greater than being reported, because of the death rate," he said.
Globally there have been more than 88,000 infections and almost 3000 deaths spanning 67 countries and regions.
Indonesia confirms first cases
© AP
A health worker sprays a domestic helper with disinfectants in front of the residence of two people who tested positive for coronavirus, in Depok, Indonesia.
Two Indonesians have tested positive for coronavirus after coming into contact with an infected Japanese national, marking the first confirmed cases in the world's fourth-most populous country.
The discovery comes after some medical experts had raised concerns about a lack of vigilance and a risk of undetected cases in the Southeast Asian country of more than 260 million people, while authorities have defended screening processes.
A 64-year-old woman and her 31-year-old daughter had become infected after contact with a female Japanese visitor, who lived in Malaysia and had tested positive after returning from a trip to Indonesia, President Joko Widodo told reporters.
"After checks, they were in a sick state. This morning I got a report that the mother and the daughter tested positive for coronavirus," he said.
The pair were being treated at Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso infectious diseases hospital.
The Japanese national was a friend of the two women's family and had visited their house in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto told reporters.
Authorities are checking who else she may have come into contact with.
The daughter and the Japanese woman had gone dancing at a venue in Jakarta on February 14, Putranto said. The Japanese national had informed the daughter on February 28 that she had been infected.
Two other people sharing the house with the infected Indonesians had not shown symptoms of coronavirus, he added.
Putranto reiterated that Indonesia was following World Health Organisation standards on testing for the virus.
Ahead of the announcement, Wimboh Santoso, head of the Financial Services Authority, urged investors to remain calm amid outflows tied to the global coronavirus outbreak and said measures were in place to prevent a stock market tumble
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said he had set up a response team to help deal with the situation in the capital.
Louvre closes amid coronavirus fears
© AP
In France, the famous Louvre museum has been shut down by staff in reaction to the virus outbreak.
Elsewhere in the world, the famous Louvre museum in Paris has shut its doors to art lovers and tourists for a second day as management held talks with workers over the risks associated with coronavirus.
Queues quickly formed in the rain outside the world's most visited museum, home to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and there was no immediate indication whether the museum would open.
A sign in multiple languages on the museum's main entrance read: "Today the opening of the Louvre is delayed. We will inform you about a potential opening time as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding."
The museum closed on Sunday after management failed to reassure staff that the risk of contagion from the coronavirus was contained, prompting a walkout.
Thierry Breton, the European Union's industry chief, on Monday said the coronavirus outbreak is costing the European tourism industry around one billion euros per month in lost revenue.
German cases skyrocket
In Germany, the number of confirmed has risen to 150, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said.
More than half of the cases, 86, are in the western region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.
Several schools and daycare centres in the state will be closed on Monday to try to prevent the spread of the virus after staff members tested positive.
'Coronavirus could hit world growth hard'
© AP
Authorities have warned global economic growth could take a severe hit as a result of the effects of coronavirus on world production.
World economic growth is projected to take a hit of about 0.5 percentage points due to the novel coronavirus, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says.
The Paris-based intergovernmental think tank revised its forecast for world growth in 2020 down from about 3 per cent to around 2.4 per cent
Projected growth could even be halved to 1.5 per cent worldwide, pushing Japan and the eurozone into recession, if current assumptions about the spread of the virus are too optimistic.
The 2.4-per-cent-growth projection is based on the epidemic peaking in China in the first quarter of this year, and only sporadic and contained outbreaks taking place in other countries.
A longer lasting and more intensive coronavirus outbreak, spreading widely throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North America, would weaken prospects considerably," the organisation warned.
The economic impact of the novel coronavirus has been quick and widespread because of China's key role in global supply chains, travel and commodity markets, the report noted.
If the virus peaks as predicted, the world economy could also recover in 2021, with the aid of economic stimulus policies in the most badly affected countries.
In that case, world growth could reach 3.25 per cent in 2021, up from November's projection of 3 per cent as it regains ground lost due to the impact of the virus.
- Reported with AAP
At Microsoft News Australia we've partnered with the giving platform Benevity to raise funds for UNICEF: Donate now and help health workers in the battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Coronavirus Health Information Line
Call 1800 020 080 if you are seeking information on novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The line operates Monday–Friday from 8am to 8pm, Saturdays from 8am to 5pm, and Sundays from 9am to 5pm.