RACGP President calls for coronavirus clarity

Following the first two confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission within Australia, RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon has requested the Government for more information on the role of primary care should sustained community transmission become widespread.
 
As reported in The Guardian, Dr Nespolon said general practice will be ‘a central part of the response’, but again sought assurances concerning the type of support GPs will need so doctors can receive ‘clear advice’ about what to do before the virus ‘hits’.
 
‘I’ve been told the Government will put out a plan in the next week or two about the role of GPs and how to resource them, whether that’s protective suits, goggles, whatever the case may be,’ he said.
 
‘[We have asked the Government] to be very clear about the role of GPs.
 
‘We have also asked the Government to provide us with an item number to bill telehealth; because taking phone calls to triage people will be inevitable and we need to be compensated to do that, to tell people whether they should come into the clinic or go to a hospital.’
 
The same article reported that states and territories are set to coordinate on which community general practices will become specialised ‘fever clinics’ to free-up hospital beds.
 
New South Wales recently announced its 10th and 11th confirmed cases, bringing Australia’s total to 35, but Federal Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy responded to the news by saying there is no evidence of sustained community transmission in Australia and that teams are still focused on containment.
 
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters that primary care and aged care officials are scheduled to meet this week to map out a plan to respond to coronavirus and make sure ‘supply lines are maintained in Australia’.
 
Residential aged care facilities are thought to be especially vulnerable to potential outbreaks, with those aged over 80 most at risk of dying from the virus.
 
As Australia’s preparations continued to ramp up, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom-Ghebreyesus conceded global health authorities are in ‘uncharted territory’, but remained defiant about efforts to contain its spread.
 
‘Containment of COVID-19 [coronavirus] is feasible and must remain the top priority for all countries. There is no one-size fits all approach,’ he said.
 
‘[The] WHO is advising countries on actions they can take for each of the scenarios – first case, first cluster, first evidence of community transmission.
 
‘Our message to all countries is: this is not [a] one-way street. We can push this coronavirus back. Your actions now will determine the course of the COVID-19 outbreak in your country. There’s no choice but to act now.’
 
Reports from China indicate it has had some success in stemming the flow of new coronavirus cases, but other countries are now reporting major outbreaks. There were nine times more new infections outside of China than within it on Tuesday; however, of the 76 countries and territories with confirmed cases of infection, 47 had 10 or fewer at the time of publication on Tuesday 3 March.
 
In Australia, Federal Government modelling provided to the states earlier this week indicates health authorities believe the country still has a window of opportunity to prepare before coronavirus takes hold in the community. 
 
‘The modelling indicates that potentially, in late April or May, there may be greater spread of the illness here in Australia, and at that point in time obviously we would need to ramp up some of our activities,’ Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan told reporters.
 
‘The peak would then hit us in potentially August, which is obviously not a great month because [it is among] our coldest months with the highest level of flu.’
 
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young also referenced modelling that indicates governments are preparing for a 10-week period in which extra healthcare capacity will be needed to deal with an influx of coronavirus cases.
 
Queensland Health confirmed to newsGP that the modelling had been supplied by the Federal Government, but a Department of Health spokesperson was unable to provide more information on its source or how it was compiled prior to publication.
 
The RACGP has more information on coronavirus available on its website.
 
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