Most Australian coronavirus cases coming from USA: PM Scott Morrison

[beijingwalker]

Most Australian coronavirus cases coming from USA: PM Scott Morrison
By Nick Pearson
10:56am Mar 20, 2020

Scott Morrison said most Australian coronavirus cases are connected to the United States. (AAP)

The United States is the country of origin for most of the coronavirus cases in Australia, the prime minister has said.

Speaking on 2GB this morning, Scott Morrison said now was the right time to close the nation's borders.

"We were able to slow the virus' start and spread in Australia through these early periods," Mr Morrison said.

"The country which has actually been responsible for a large amount of these (coronavirus cases) has actually been the United States.

"At the end of the day, that's a function of the number of people who travel between the US and Australia."

Eighty per cent of coronavirus cases in Australia are people who have come in from overseas or have caught the disease directly from them.

A failure to conduct adequate numbers of coronavirus tests meant the United States appeared to have many more infections in recent weeks than had been announced.


Mr Morrison dismissed a suggestion from host Alan Jones that China should be excluded from bidding on devalued assets, because the coronavirus stemmed from that country.
"I don't think there's any suggestion that any country, including China, has done anything deliberately," he said.

"This is a virus. It originated in Wuhan, China, and has gone around the world."

Mr Morrison defended a $715 million support package for the aviation industry not going directly to employees.

"That money is going to keep the aviation industry alive," he said.

"Companies are going to go through incredibly difficult times over the next six months, we're going to help them as much as we can and help them keep jobs wherever we can."
Mr Morrison noted the $715 million package was not a cash handout but a waiver on fees.
Yesterday 20,000 Qantas employees were sent home and asked to use their leave entitlements as the coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on the industry.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/c...morrison/5b04121e-a597-4aaf-a1a7-04be02f9d376

 

[beijingwalker]

That's what "Don't test, don't tell" policy gives you in the end.

 

[donkeykong]

Yeah most states in Aus have closed their borders because most cases are coming from the East coast.

 

[zhxy]

The aviation industry suffered the most damage

 

[beijingwalker]

Australia has a large Chinese community, if China didn't contain the virus, how come the majority of the cases in Austalia are from USA? This is a clear example for which government is a more responsible government dedicating to contain the virus and which one is all talk and all blame shifting without taking any meaningfu actions.

 

[Oldman1]

Australia has a large Chinese community, if China didn't contain the virus, how come the majority of the cases in Austalia are from USA? This is a clear example for which government is a more responsible government dedicating to contain the virus and which one is all talk and all blame shifting without taking any meaningfu actions.

You know there is a large Chinese community in the U.S.?

 

[beijingwalker]

You know there is a large Chinese community in the U.S.?

Do Americans get the virus from them? How this virus spreads so wide and fast in US is a mystery, the number of the infected can not jump 10000 new cases daily, unless it's been around unknowningly and unchecked for a long time.

 

[Oldman1]

Do Americans get the virus from them? How this virus spreads so wide and fast in US is a mystery, the number of the infected can not jump 10000 new cases daily, unless it's been around unknowningly and unchecked for a long time.

Many Chinese Americans coming back from China obviously. Think of how fast it was in Italy.