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A 40-year-old man with the only case of coronavirus in Tasmania is “really well” in hospital as state health authorities ramp up their response to the virus.
The state government has announced a boost in health department resources but maintains the risk to those on the southern island remains extremely low.
The man, who is quarantined at the Launceston General Hospital in the state’s north, had travelled to Iran and returned a positive test on Monday.
“(He is) actually really well, and pretty much asymptomatic now,” the hospital’s infectious disease specialist Katie Flanagan told reporters on Friday.
“But on precaution we’re keeping him in hospital to make sure he’s cleared the virus completely.
“(He) hasn’t needed any extra medical care other than just observation and a little bit of support because this has been very stressful for him.”
The man had travelled to Iran and returned a positive test on Monday.Roshan Arjun Ananda
The 15 people in close contact with the man on a flight from Melbourne to Launceston have been assessed.
“There’s no suggestion that he has passed this on to anybody else at all,” Dr Flanagan said.
“We’ve done some very thorough screening and quarantining of people to make sure that’s the case.”
The state’s health department has established an emergency coordination centre and devoted more resources to planning for an outbreak.
A mobile coronavirus assessment centre has been set up outside the Launceston hospital and more are expected to be rolled out across the state in coming weeks.
“This is a prudent approach … we are seeing more global pressure in regards to the coronavirus,” Health Minister Sarah Courtney said.
People are being urged to not present at the mobile clinic as their first port of call and contact the public health hotline or visit a GP first.
69 people have returned negative tests in Tasmania.
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