Hunter New England Local Health District provides update on coronavirus and how to protect against it

A Hunter New England (HNE) Local Health District spokesperson said on Tuesday that health staff were undertaking daily wellness checks while the gentleman was in isolation at home and that "he is doing well".

"His close contacts have been contacted and asked to self-isolate. They are being contacted every day by the public health unit to check that they are well. Any contact who develops COVID-19 symptoms will be tested for the infection.

"NSW Health is continuing to trace and respond to cases as they are diagnosed to slow any spread of COVID-19 in the community.

"As has been occurring since the outbreak of COVID-19, and in line with national protocols, NSW Health promptly notifies the public of any locations, including on public transport, where there has been a risk of infection. This is so members of the public can monitor their symptoms and seek medical assistance if they become unwell.

"Anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 and their close contacts are either being treated in hospital or are in self-isolation to ensure there is no ongoing risk of infection to others in the community. Locations where these cases live, work or have visited do not pose any ongoing risk to the public."

The spread of the virus worldwide has also prompted local health professionals to remind Port Stephens residents to remain vigilant and to keep updated through a newly established one-stop website.

The spokesperson said that the best way people could protect the wider community was to "practice good hand hygiene, cover your sneezes and coughs and stay home from work or study if you feel unwell".

"A new website, updated daily, that helps the community find the facts about COVID-19, including the best ways to protect themselves and their families, can be found at health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/diseases/Pages/coronavirus.aspx."

The spokesperson said as of Thursday, across NSW more than 3000 people had been tested.

"While we are currently continuing to contain the spread of the virus, increasing international spread means that a pandemic, including local transmission is quite possible and planning has begun," the spokesperson said.

"Our public health unit works closely with clinicians in preparing for public health emergencies including exercising various scenarios to maximise preparedness. All hospitals in the HNE Local Health District are equipped to treat a person with COVID-19."

The spokesperson said that the local district was reviewing and revising its pandemic plan in response to COVID-19.

"As part of this, there is enhanced triaging in our emergency departments (EDs), with broad screening of all presenting patients. EDs are also undertaking random drills to ensure staff readiness," the spokesperson said.

"We are working with all staff to increase attention to hand hygiene, cough etiquette and respiratory preparedness as well as the application of Personal Protection Equipment. With convergence with the flu season likely, the district has also commenced recruitment of additional winter nursing casual staff.

"Staff in our smaller facilities also have 24/7 support, via Telehealth, from senior medical officers in our larger, networked hospitals for specialised advice and intervention."

Good prevention tips include staying home and away from other people if you are unwell with respiratory symptoms, use cough etiquette - including covering your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or coughing into a tissue and disposing of it, and cleaning your hands regularly throughout the day with soap and running water for 20 seconds or an alcohol-based hand rub.

NSW Health has compiled a list of frequently asked questions. You can view them in full here.

The Port Stephens Examiner has included some of the questions and answers below:

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some coronaviruses cause illness in humans and others cause illness in animals, such as bats, camels, and civets. Human coronaviruses generally cause mild illness, such as the common cold.

Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve to infect and spread among humans, causing severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which emerged in 2002, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) which emerged in 2012.

COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. It was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, where it has caused a large and ongoing outbreak. It has since spread more widely in China. Cases have since been identified in several other countries. The COVID-19 virus is closely related to a bat coronavirus.

There is much more to learn about how COVID-19 is spread, its severity, and other features associated with the virus; epidemiological and clinical investigations are ongoing.

Outbreaks of new coronavirus infections among people are always a public health concern. The situation is evolving rapidly.

Human coronaviruses are spread from someone with confirmed coronavirus to other close contacts with that person through contaminated droplets spread by coughing or sneezing, or by contact with contaminated hands, surfaces or objects.

The time between when a person is exposed to the virus and when symptoms first appear is typically 5 to 6 days, although may range from 2 to 14 days. For this reason, people who might have been in contact with a confirmed case are being asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

Most COVID-19 cases appear to be spread from people who have symptoms. A small number of people may have been infectious before their symptoms developed.

According to the World Health Organization, it is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).

If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with a common household disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.

Patients may have fever, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath and other symptoms.

In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia with severe acute respiratory distress.

The infection period for the virus will vary from person to person. Mild symptoms in an otherwise healthy individual may resolve over just a few days. Similar to influenza, for an individual with other ongoing health issues, such as a respiratory condition, recovery may take weeks and in severe cases could be potentially fatal.

Infection with COVID-19 is diagnosed by finding evidence of the virus in respiratory samples such as swabs from the back of the nose and throat or fluid from the lungs. Testing for COVID-19 is done in public health laboratories.

If you have been identified as a contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection in Australia, the local public health unit will contact you with advice.

You need to isolate yourself at home for 14 days after contact with the infected person, and to monitor your health and report any symptoms.

Person to person spread of coronaviruses generally occurs between people who are close contacts with one another. A close contact is typically someone who has been face to face for at least 15 minutes, or been in the same closed space for at least 2 hours, with a person that was infectious.

The public health unit will keep in touch with people who are close contacts of patients with COVID-19 infection. If any symptoms develop contacts must call the public health unit to report those symptoms.

If your contact with the person was less than this, there is a much smaller risk of you being infected.

However, as a precaution you must still monitor your health until 14 days after you were last exposed to the infectious person.

If you develop symptoms including a fever and/or respiratory signs, please call ahead to talk to a doctor or call healthdirect on 1800 022 222.

Tell your doctor that you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19.

The doctor may tell you to attend your nearest emergency department, if so call ahead before attending.

There are no vaccines that protect against COVID-19.

There is no specific treatment for COVID-19. Early diagnosis and general supportive care are important. Most of the time, symptoms will resolve on their own. People who have serious disease with complications can be cared for in hospital.

The best way to protect yourself is the same as you would against any respiratory infection. Practice good hygiene by:

Make sure you stay home if you are sick.

Face masks are not recommended for the general population.

People who have symptoms and might be infected with COVID-19 are required to stay in isolation at home and should wear a surgical face mask when in the same room as another person and when seeking medical advice to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 to anyone else.

Health care workers who are caring for patients with suspected COVID-19 should use appropriate personal protective equipment to protect themselves against COVID-19. For more information refer to Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) - Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) website.

Additional supplies of face masks have been distributed for specific health workers by NSW Health and the Australian Government to meet current demand. NSW Health will continue to monitor supplies of face masks in NSW.

NSW Health works with its hospitals to maintain high infection control standards. NSW hospitals and clinicians are well trained in caring for people with infectious diseases, and in preventing their transmission to other patients.

Any student or staff member who over the last 14 days has visited mainland China or has travelled to or transited through Iran on or after 1 March 2020 should be in self-isolation for 14 days after they departed mainland China or Iran. They are excluded from school and should not return to school or child care services for a period of 14 days after leaving China or Iran, as the COVID-19 incubation period can be as long as two weeks.

Staff and students who have been identified as close contacts of a person diagnosed with COVID-19 during their infectious period must also self-isolate at home, and should not attend school or childcare settings until 14 days after their last contact with the infected person.

If you develop fever, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath and other symptoms and have travelled in Mainland China or Iran or another country at risk of COVID-19, you should see your GP or visit your local Emergency Department to be tested for COVID-19.

If you are become unwell with these symptoms without travel you should see your local GP and discuss your symptoms. There are other illnesses such as Influenza that your GP may wish to test you for that can cause your symptoms.

If you need groceries or medicines (including prescription medicines), ask a family member or friend (who is not in isolation) to deliver them to your home or shop for groceries online. To prevent infecting other people, make sure you wear a mask when receiving a delivery or have the groceries left at your door.

If you are well at the end of 14 days self-isolation, you can resume your normal lifestyle.