Coronavirus (COVID-19) Respiratory illness - Effect on Travel

[Melburnian1]

Details still extremely vague but looks like NZ Gov is offering to fly aussies from Wuhan to NZ.

There was no talk of detention centres (self isolation for 14 days expected) and no talk of a payment for a ticket.

A helpful distraction for the NZ PM given her outfit is trailing in the polls.

And she might be exposing her countrymen to this virus. Doesn't sound sensible to me given the incubation period.

 

[amaroo]

Passengers on a Tiger flight (Mel - OOL) are going to be contacted...

Quote from the QLD health chief. That last line sums up beautifully how much choice people have in an emergency.

Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young said the department would contact every person on the flight – between 150 and 200 people – to alert them.

Passengers seated within two rows in front of and behind the group will be asked to go into isolation by the health department.

Dr Young has statutory powers to force a person to be quarantined.

“I can ask them to remain in a place of my choosing,” she said.

 

[Pushka]

Passengers on a Tiger flight (Mel - OOL) are going to be contacted...

Quote from the QLD health chief. That last line sums up beautifully how much choice people have in an emergency.

Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young said the department would contact every person on the flight – between 150 and 200 people – to alert them.

Passengers seated within two rows in front of and behind the group will be asked to go into isolation by the health department.

Dr Young has statutory powers to force a person to be quarantined.

“I can ask them to remain in a place of my choosing,” she said.

Why? What is the context?

 

[Melburnian1]

Passengers on a Tiger flight (Mel - OOL) are going to be contacted...

Quote from the QLD health chief. That last line sums up beautifully how much choice people have in an emergency.

Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young said the department would contact every person on the flight – between 150 and 200 people – to alert them.

Passengers seated within two rows in front of and behind the group will be asked to go into isolation by the health department.

Dr Young has statutory powers to force a person to be quarantined.

“I can ask them to remain in a place of my choosing,” she said.

amaroo, in such circumstances, because it's an important (and potentially life-threatening) public health problem, do the Federal Chief Medical Officer (and State/Territory counterparts) have the power to compel a transport operator to hand over contact details and names of every passenger?

 

[get me outta here]

Pear shape.

If things have turned pair shape within the 14 days I suspect many will be thinking - why did they bring them here....

Apparently the WHO is against anyone being airlifted / relocated / moved from the affected area, maybe the Gov should abort the plan and let the Chinese handle it.

 

[Melburnian1]

Why? What is the context?

Media suggest one person on the flight had it:

Authorities reveal passenger with coronavirus travelled on TigerAir flight

A health alert has been issued for those who may have into contact with the infected passenger.

7news.com.au

Post automatically merged: Jan 30, 2020

Pear shape.

But a very clever pun, because 'pair' could mean 'return' (trip) and hence has a travel-related meaning.

 

[amaroo]

Why? What is the context?

The person declared affected on the Gold Coast yesterday arrived on a Tiger flight from Mel ..... which was a connection from SIN ..... which was a connection from .... you get the picture?

 

[Digger11]

The masks are practically sold out in Adelaide apparently. Elsewhere, you are probably okay if you get in and buy now, just in case.

About 50% of the people at Doncaster shopping town yesterday were wearing masks , so I didn’t hang around there for too long.
Are they trying not to catch the virus or spread it ? I assume they had mostly just returned from China after the school holidays.

 

[Pushka]

Thank you to the Moderator who removed certain wording from the original post.

None of this is about personal choice it seems, even in Australia, when it comes to the current issue. Once we get Human to human transmission in Australia of people who are just going about their business then the fan will hit and those people being taken to CI will be seen as a fully appropriate response.
And yet Qantas isn’t modifying flights to China. And that just quoted the wrong passage....

 

[Must...Fly!]

None of this is about personal choice it seems, even in Australia, when it comes to the current issue.

To take it to an extreme. So if it is someone's personal choice to return from Wuhan to Australia via smuggling themselves out of the "quarantined" zone to....Guangzhou, then hop on a flight to Australia and proceed to cough over every surface they can find in the aeroplane, public toilets in airport and public transport they should be allowed to do that?

 

[amaroo]

amaroo, in such circumstances, because it's an important (and potentially life-threatening) public health problem, do the Federal Chief Medical Officer (and State/Territory counterparts) have the power to compel a transport operator to hand over contact details and names of every passenger?

I believe so, at least that is what The Aus is reporting. Tiger have been quoted as follows.... even quoted the seat numbers.

Wonder who will contact the passengers that flew with him from SIN and before that from China?

A Tigerair Australia spokesman said the airline was aware of the issue and working with the health department to contact passengers on the flight.

“Tigerair Australia has been made aware by the Queensland Health department that a passenger travelling on a flight from Melbourne to the Gold Coast has tested positive for coronavirus,” the spokesman said in a statement.

“The flight number was TT566 on 27 January 2020.

“We are now in the process of contacting the passengers and our crew on this flight to notify them so they can visit their GP for testing.

“The safety of our passengers and our crew is always our number one priority and we are working closely with the Queensland Health department on this matter.”

The man was travelling on a booking with one other person and they were seated in 11A and 11B.

 

[Pushka]

To take it to an extreme. So if it is someone's personal choice to return from Wuhan to Australia via smuggling themselves out of the "quarantined" zone to....Guangzhou, then hop on a flight to Australia and proceed to cough over every surface they can find in the aeroplane, public toilets in airport and public transport they should be allowed to do that?

Hell no. But will happen. I read, again in the media, that many million escaped the province just before the crackdown. And that awful story circulating of a couple leaving their kids behind at the gate when one tested positive although that probably meant the child just had a fever. Morality exited the building with Elvis.

 

[p--and--t]

o take it to an extreme. So if it is someone's personal choice to return from Wuhan to Australia via smuggling themselves out of the "quarantined" zone to....Guangzhou, then hop on a flight to Australia and proceed to cough over every surface they can find in the aeroplane, public toilets in airport and public transport they should be allowed to do that?

Um, 10,000s Aussies do that every day during winter every year. Flying around the country with colds and flu and other communicable viruses and diseases such as tummy bugs etc? Also coming into work contaminating workplaces public transport etc.

As has been pointed out more than once by DrRon & others 1,000 aussies die each year from equivalent viruses.

Bit of paranoia taking over.

 

[DC3]

Given a choice of the Christmas Island scenario, or NZ, the NZ option would be ahead, based on limited information posted above.

Edit: Live: Coronavirus - Air NZ plane chartered to assist in getting Kiwis out of Wuhan

“... Peters said New Zealand will be offering any additional seats to Pacific Island and Australian citizens as a matter of priority.

Those who do take a seat on the plane will be required to pay a fee, but Peters said the Government will absorb most of the cost of the charter flight ...”

And in relation to the NZ PM: “... Speaking to media this afternoon, she said New Zealanders would not be quarantined on Christmas Island like Australians in Wuhan.

"We have the ability to provide our own quarantine and isolation within New Zealand, so that's just not considered something that's appropriate for us to utilise for New Zealand citizens or residents ...”

 

[Pushka]

Um, 10,000s Aussies do that every day during winter every year. Flying around the country with colds and flu and other communicable viruses and diseases such as tummy bugs etc? Also coming into work contaminating workplaces public transport etc.

As has been pointed out more than once by DrRon & others 1,000 aussies die each year from equivalent viruses.

Bit of paranoia taking over.

But given China‘s signficant and fast action here there must be more about this than what we are being told. Maybe there has been meddling scientific research and this time the genie escaped the bottle. Otherwise I’d agree that currently it’s like well, a common place virus that seems to have a few different characteristics but nothing much else.

 

[amaroo]

Tonight's recommendation for Netflix....

 

[dajop]

Routesonline schedule updates for today so far and some of yesterday...

 

[p--and--t]

Tonight's recommendation for Netflix....

It was on Free to Air in Melbourne last night

 

[Mr Pumblechook]

Given a choice of the Christmas Island scenario, or NZ, the NZ option would be ahead, based on limited information posted above.

If the NZ government wants to use NZ taxpayer's money to pay for the evacuation and two weeks' accommodation of Australian citizens, that sounds like the preferred outcome for Australian taxpayers as well!

 

[DC3]

If the NZ government wants to use NZ taxpayer's money to pay for the evacuation and two weeks' accommodation of Australian citizens, that sounds like the preferred outcome for Australian taxpayers as well!

Score so far:

NZ: 1
AU: 0