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  • Good afternoon everyone. I'm providing the daily update from New South Wales Health.

  • There remain four confirmed cases, so we have no new cases reported in New South Wales.

  • Two patients are now well and were discharged on the 29th of January and the other two

  • remain clinically stable. The close contacts of the cases have been monitored by

  • public health units and no cases have been identified amongst those close contacts. We've

  • got twenty cases currently under investigation, and as I discussed yesterday, that's actually

  • a positive sign that our numbers are increasing cause at the moment we want to increase testing

  • and to make sure that we identify every possible case at this current time. There's eleven

  • men nine women and the age range is from five to seventy four years and as our usual procedure

  • all of those individuals will be in isolation whilst we are awaiting test results. I'm pleased

  • to announce we've got testing up and running in two of our sites both at Westmead and our

  • Randwick facility and that will also make sure our test results are more quickly provided

  • to patients to, in most cases as we've seen, exclude infection. That's all I've got

  • for the update, but, certainly wanted to provide the opportunity for questions. I should say

  • that all of the thirteen tests that were done last night were all negative and hence the

  • no further confirmed cases today.

  • So firstly those cases their symptoms have resolved completely

  • so no symptoms and we've also as an added precaution undertaken testing to confirm that

  • there is no virus detectable in any samples taken from those individuals.

  • So the treatment is supportive

  • there is no specific treatment for Coronavirus if they've got a concurrent

  • infection such as influenza we can use anti-virals or they develop a bacterial co-infections

  • we can treat that, but there is no therapy that is routinely given for the Novel Coronavirus.

  • No they've acquired the virus, they've got better they got immune they can go forth and

  • they're not infectious, they don't present a risk to anyone else.

  • Sorry I don't have

  • those details at hand, we'll certainly follow up after this case with the Commonwealth.

  • I'm happy to provide that to you after the press conference, as I've got the ages of

  • the four, but I'm not sure which one were the two, so we're happy to provide that. In

  • broad terms I think we've been saying yes we will be able to provide that to you.

  • So as I've reported the numbers jumped yesterday I think from memory it was around sixteen

  • cases under investigation yesterday's press conference, today I'm saying twenty today,

  • so that reflects an increase in testing, partly it reflects the broadening definition to focus

  • on the Hubei Province rather than just Wuhan and that's in recognition of transmission

  • a little bit more widespread than Wuhan City itself. And also our recognition that the

  • disease can present in a mild form, so to ensure we really understand that we are picking

  • up the cases here and as we try and learn as an international community more and more

  • about this virus it is important that we have widened our case definition and are testing

  • a broader range of people presenting with symptoms.

  • I would not be surprised if we identified

  • further cases and to some extent that is a positive message because it means we're got

  • our surveillance system up, we're testing people, we're asking people to come forward

  • and I want to acknowledge the fact that we have had so many people come forward for testing.

  • So I would say I wouldn't be concerned if I found another case, I think it reflects

  • the veracity of our screening processes.

  • I haven't personally had any feedback provided

  • to me about the response to that, but I think as the Minister has said the community has

  • been very responsive to the health messages and I also acknowledge the key role of the

  • media getting those messages out and I understand that as we're monitoring this situation closely

  • in Australia and drawing on best expert advice that that advice has changed over that period

  • and our understanding has changed and it's likely that it will continue to change, but

  • I do also want to say and echo some of the statement I made yesterday which is I'm still

  • concerned about the misinformation on social media platforms and would urge your listeners

  • to ensure that they seek reliable sources of truth. Our website has got lots of information,

  • we have got videos and fact sheets in translated versions, so my message is seek out reliable

  • sources and keep yourself informed. Thank you.

Good afternoon everyone. I'm providing the daily update from New South Wales Health.

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