1 February 2020
Please attribute the below to Dr Jeannette Young, Chief Health Officer:
Following a request from the Queensland Government, late yesterday the Federal Government provided a list of Queenslanders under 18 years old who have recently returned from China, including Hong Kong.
Queensland Health and Education Queensland have worked overnight to compile the contact details of the parents of the 3,760 young Queenslanders on this list.
Earlier today we began the process of sending a text message to those parents to reinforce the health advice for their children regarding coronavirus. The text message is in English and has been translated into both simplified and traditional Chinese.
The advice is that children who have visited China (including Hong Kong) should not attend school, childcare or TAFE until 14 days after the date of their departure from China (including Hong Kong).
This advice also applies to teachers, staff and anyone else who attends these facilities.
This is a precautionary measure following the most recent advice around the timeframe that people are contagious before showing symptoms.
Communicating directly with these families will help us continue to respond effectively to the current coronavirus situation and particularly to contain the possible further spread of the virus.
If you become unwell and need to seek care, please visit your GP practice or Emergency Department. Please call ahead to inform them you may have been exposed to novel coronavirus.
Anyone who has questions or concerns can contact 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84).
Further information on coronavirus is available at www.health.qld.gov.au/coronavirus