Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Bowman, who throughout his career has been a great advocate and practitioner of public health. Shortly before coming to question time, I was informed by the national incident centre that for the first time—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Health has the call.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Shortly before question time, I was informed by the national incident centre that for the first time the number of diagnosed cases of coronavirus has exceeded 80,000. That number is sadly backed up by almost 2,700 people who have now lost their lives to coronavirus. The situation globally has seen significant jumps in Japan, South Korea, Iran and parts of northern Italy. All of these things come together to create a very real and significant global challenge, declared by the World Health Organization as a global emergency.

Against that background, as the Prime Minister has said, while we are not immune as a country we are as well prepared as anybody could possibly be. I say that because on 21 January the extraordinary Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, made the decision to declare coronavirus, very early on, a disease of pandemic potential. That triggered a series of actions in Australia: the standing up of the national incident centre, the standing up of the National Medical Stockpile, the readiness and activation of the national trauma centre and the daily meetings of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee—three meetings now of all state, territory and Commonwealth health ministers through teleconference, including on the weekend, to discuss pandemic readiness. I have to commend all of the states and territories for their work, their readiness, their hospitals, their fever clinics—everything which has been prepared if the worst were to pass.

At the same time, our hospitals have done an extra ordinary job. There are 15 cases which have been identified in the general population in Australia. I can now inform the House, as the Prime Minister did shortly before question time, that all 15 of those cases have now been cleared and discharged from hospital. That is a very positive step and a positive reflection on the whole of the Australian health and medical services system. So there are great challenges afoot in this world, but I say to the Australian people that we are prepared, we are ready and we will get through this. We will get through this because as a country we are united, as a system we are prepared and as a parliament we are ready.