17 March 2020

COVID-19 update: cases 29-31

The Department of Health has reported three new cases of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the State’s total to 31.

WA’s Director of Communicable Disease Control Dr Paul Armstrong said the new cases were all adult males and recovering in self-isolation at home in the metropolitan area. 

One had travelled to Perth from the UK, one from Thailand and the other from Ireland, via Doha.

The Department of Health is working with relevant airlines to contact passengers who were sitting within close proximity of two of the recent cases. Flight details will be uploaded to the HealthyWA website as contact tracing is completed.

To date 6582 Western Australians have tested negative to COVID-19.

Dr Armstrong said all cases notified so far had been associated with overseas travel.

The Department of Health continues to contact trace the healthcare workers who returned positive tests yesterday.

Under newly implemented testing protocols for healthcare staff, any healthcare worker who has fever and respiratory illness will be treated as a suspect case and tested.

See WA Health’s HealthyWA website for the latest information on COVID-19.

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