By Luke Voogt
A passenger quarantined on Tuesday after they disembarked at Avalon Airport has tested negative for coronavirus, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
A DHHS spokesperson confirmed the negative test result on Wednesday afternoon while urging the public not to overreact amid panic over the disease.
“We’ve had more than 1700 negative COVID-19 tests in Victoria,” they said.
Staff quarantined the passenger after they disembarked from an Air Asia flight from Malaysia on Tuesday morning.
Paramedics in protective gear, including glasses and masks, took the passenger via ambulance to University Hospital Geelong.
“What we had yesterday was not an unusual thing,” the DHHS spokesperson said.
“That’s how they respond to reports of any infectious disease.”
Ten cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Victoria.
The DHHS spokesperson recommended any concerned locals visit www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus for tips to reduce their risk of contracting and spreading coronavirus.
More than 92,000 cases had been confirmed worldwide and the number of deaths from the virus had reached 3110 globally on Wednesday, according to the World Health Organisation.
The organisation had yet to declare the virus a ‘global pandemic’ on Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, some Geelong residents have joined the rush of Australians stocking up toilet paper, hand sanitiser, pet food, dried food and frozen meals.
Readers contacted the Independent on Wednesday reporting depleted toilet paper shelves at supermarkets across Geelong.
Woolworths announced this week customers would only be able to buy a maximum of four packs of toilet paper, both in-store and online.
But Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy told a senate hearing on Wednesday the rush to buy toilet paper and other items was unnecessary.
“We are trying to reassure people that removing all of the lavatory paper from the shelves of supermarkets probably isn’t a proportionate or sensible thing to do at this time,” Prof Murphy said.
“We are a well-prepared health system but even the best-prepared health systems can face a challenge if you have large outbreaks.”
The ABC reported this week that toilet paper and hand sanitiser manufacturers were ramping up production to meet demand.
