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Australia Could Detain Coronavirus Patients

Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY - Australia is preparing to use strict biosecurity laws to force
   people suspected of carrying the coronavirus into hospitals or into
   quarantine. People at risk of spreading coronavirus could be detained
   by police under new laws expected to be introduced into the South
   Australian state parliament on Tuesday.

   Coronavirus patients could be forcibly detained in Australia. Under
   biosecurity laws passed in 2015, the authorities have the power to hold
   and decontaminate people with the Covid-19 virus and stop them going to
   sporting events, schools and shopping centers.

   Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter told the Australian
   Broadcasting Corporation that detaining patients would be a last
   resort.

   "I mean, there will be certain circumstances where there are penalties
   for failing to abide by an order. Detention can occur under the Act but
   it is rare and very much a last resort and it exists for the types of
   requirements like compelling someone to stop to a medical facility," he
   said.

   Australia has more than 30 verified cases of the disease, but experts
   believe a mass outbreak is still avoidable. For the first time
   person-to-person transmission has also been confirmed in two patients
   in Sydney.

   Australia's first coronavirus death was recorded at the weekend. The
   78-year-old man died more than a week after being put into isolation in
   hospital in the city of Perth. He had been in quarantine since being
   evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship held in the Japanese
   port of Yokohama. His wife has tested positive for the covid-19 virus,
   and is reported to be in a stable condition.

   Australia has imposed a travel ban on foreigners arriving from Iran
   because of the outbreak. Similar restrictions have applied to mainland
   China for more than a month.