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Two coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Western Australia today, the first time human-to-human transmission of the virus has been recorded in the state.
Key points:
- A woman, in her 60s, was diagnosed after her husband returned from Iran
- He is now being tested for the virus and they are self-isolating at home
- The sixth case is a man in his 40s whose mother was also infected
A woman in her 60s has been diagnosed and is believed to have contracted the virus from her husband, who returned recently from Iran, health authorities said.
The couple are self-isolating at home, with regular monitoring being conducted by the Health Department.
The woman's husband is being tested for the virus and efforts are also underway to track who else the man may have come into contact with since returning to WA.
He has been in WA for 13 days and authorities said they were speaking with him through a translator to try to track his and his wife's movements.
Your questions on coronavirus answered
Another man, in his 40s, was today confirmed as the state's sixth case. He is believed to have contracted the virus from his mother, who flew in to WA from Jakarta.
She stayed in WA for six days before flying on to Melbourne.
WA Health Minister Roger Cook confirmed it was the first confirmed human-to-human transmission of the potentially deadly coronavirus in WA and was identified after health authorities tested all family members who came into contact with the woman.
Health authorities are tracking the movements of all six cases in the state.
Three "fever clinics" will open at Royal Perth, Fiona Stanley and Charles Gairdner hospitals tomorrow to deal with patients presenting with suspected symptoms of COVID-19.
The clinics will be able to test up to 200 people a day, but will screen patients to prioritise testing for those who meet specific criteria regarding symptoms, recent travel history and contact with confirmed cases.
Russell Brand cancels concert
It comes after the state confirmed its fourth case of coronavirus yesterday in a woman in her 70s, who returned from overseas on Thursday.
She had been in Cuba and spent six days in London before returning to Perth.
After developing symptoms on Friday morning, she was tested and returned a positive result late on Saturday night.
In the meantime she visited several public places, including a West Australian Symphony Orchestra performance at the Perth Concert Hall on Saturday evening.
Efforts are underway to contact anyone who sat near her at the event and on her flight into Perth.
British comedian Russell Brand was supposed to perform at the same venue tonight, but today issued a tweet that the show would be cancelled.
In a message to his fans, Brand said he was "not happy with the risk for me or for any of you" following the virus scare.
Mr Cook said community spread was an inevitability in WA.
"It's a question of when, not if," he said.
"Look at the situation in New South Wales and that's Western Australia in three to four weeks from now.
"You will continue to see the prevalence of this virus, and you will start to see community-based transmission. As that happens we will need to ramp up our response."
So far 46 people in NSW have tested positive to COVID-19. Only one person has died from coronavirus in WA — 78-year-old James Kwan, who contracted the disease after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
Mr Kwan's 79-year-old wife, who was also infected, has now recovered from COVID-19 and has been discharged from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital to rest at home.
Topics: infectious-diseases-other, perth-6000, wa
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