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For Australian readers who are just joining us, the Australian chief medical officer, professor Brendan Murphy, had some strong words for Australians who he says are putting a “burden on the system” by trying to get a test for coronavirus when they are not at risk of the disease.
We have seen over recent days a number of people seeking testing who don’t need it.... There is no point being tested at the moment if you have not travelled or if you’ve not been in contact - even if you have flu-like illnesses. We are not saying to people who get acute respiratory symptoms, a cold or a flu, to go and get tested for COVID-19. We are saying that if you’ve come back from overseas, if you’re a returned traveller or you’ve been in contact with someone who has been a confirmed case, then you should be tested.
But other Australians do not need testing and all they’re doing is putting an unnecessary burden on the testing.
We’re not testing people without symptoms at the moment. There is no value in testing people without symptoms. Currently, our approach is testing — and that’s the international approach — is testing people who have respiratory symptoms and who have been a returned traveller or who are a contact.
The Australian market is continuing to slide, falling by about 1.3% shortly after 11am.
Airline Qantas, which has cut its international capacity by a quarter because of the coronavirus, has again been hammered, plunging more than 9% to make it the biggest loser among the top 200 companies listed on the ASX in trading so far today.
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