Coronavirus Update: Federal Government Activates Pandemic Plan as Travel Ban Continues
By Jossie Warnant
The Australian government has activated its COVID-19 pandemic plan which outlines its plan to deal with a large-scale coronavirus outbreak.
The document highlights that there is still much that is unknown about the coronavirus, noting that state and territory governments will be involved in implementing strategies to minimise disease transmission. The Prime Minister will have primary responsibility in leading the government’s response.
“The novel coronavirus outbreak represents a significant risk to Australia. It has the potential to cause high levels of morbidity and mortality and to disrupt our community socially and economically.”
This comes after the Federal Government confirmed that 1,477 students from China who spent 14 days in a country other than mainland China arrived in Australia on February 21 and 22, as the university semester commenced. The travel ban continues until February 29 when it will be reviewed. The ban has already been extended twice.
Thousands more students are expected to return in coming weeks now that students know the travel ban can be bypassed. Most students are conducting self-quarantine, with Malaysia and Thailand being major transit countries.
Federal health minister, Greg Hunt, also announced on Saturday that the travel ban will be relaxed for some year 11 and 12 students, excluding those from the Hubei province. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis with students required to undergo a 13 step approval process to return to Australia for their schooling.
At this stage, this travel ban exemption is not available to university students. The Federal Government says that a decision on university students could occur within the next week.
The University of Melbourne is offering financial support to students affected by the coronavirus. It will provide support grants of up to $7,500 per student, with the actual amount being calculated based on the individual level of impact incurred by the student. This money is intended to pay for accommodation costs, fees associated with flight changes, costs associated with the 14-day isolation period and the need to upgrade technology to manage flexible learning.
The University of Melbourne’s Provost, Professor Mark Considine, said in a statement that “our number one priority is the health and wellbeing of our entire University community. We understand this has been a difficult time for students who have been affected and we are working hard to ensure they can complete their studies on time”.
The University of Melbourne is the third Australian university to provide students with financial assistance to manage expenses associated with the coronavirus.
The University of Adelaide announced “care packages” last week. This includes discounted fees and $2000 to go towards lost airfares.
On Friday, Western Sydney University announced it will also offer a one-off $1500 subsidy to students from China who choose to undergo quarantine in another country before entering Australia.
The university says that this payment “recognises the additional costs that these students will incur as they attempt to get to campus to start the year.”
University of Sydney students affected by the coronavirus travel ban have not been offered additional financial assistance.
Currently, University of Sydney students who are not Australian citizens are not permitted to re-enter the country without quarantine in a third country. Recently Vice Chancellor, Michael Spence, emailed affected students to advise them that more than 800 Units of Study across different programs are available for online supported learning until students can return to Sydney.
Students have the option to remain in China for all of Semester 1 and continue study through supported learning, commence studying in China with part-semester online supported learning and re-join class when they return to Sydney or defer their studies.
Some courses are offering a delayed start, but will not finish at a later time in the semester.