Victoria confirms ninth coronavirus case

The Victorian government says a ninth person has tested positive for coronavirus in the state.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says passengers on the same flight as the infected woman are being contacted.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says passengers on the same flight as the infected woman are being contacted. Source: AAP

A woman in her 30s is Victoria's ninth confirmed coronavirus case.

The state's Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Sunday the woman landed in Melbourne from Iran.

The Victorian woman travelled from Tehran via Kuala Lumpur and Bali, arriving in Australia around 6am on Friday.
She started feeling unwell while travelling to Melbourne, and authorities are following-up with fellow plane travellers.

The health department said the woman travelled by private car directly home, which eliminates the risk of further public exposure sites.

She was admitted to hospital on Saturday and put in isolation, then confirmed positive for the COVID-19 virus on Sunday.



Another person who was in contact with the woman will be tested for the virus and has been forced to self-isolate at home for 14 days.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says her department is contacting other passengers who were on the same flight as the woman who tested positive for the virus. 

"My department is contacting passengers on her flight Malindo Air OD177 from Kuala Lumpur, to Denpasar, then Melbourne arriving 0604 Friday 28 Feb," she wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. "There was no further contact with the public."
This new case comes as the federal government defends its decision to ban foreign visitors entering Australia from Iran to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, rather than South Korea which has a much higher level of cases.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Sunday said that of the 106 deaths that have been reported outside of China, 43 have been in Iran.
A 63-year-old Gold Coast beautician who returned to Australia from Iran on Monday, has also been diagnosed with the virus.

Seven previously confirmed cases in Victoria have recovered and are no longer in isolation.

The eighth, case a man in his 70s who was aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japan, was on Sunday transferred to Melbourne from quarantine near Darwin.


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2 min read
Published 1 March 2020 9:45pm
Updated 1 March 2020 10:26pm



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