Page 3360 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 21 October 2014
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suspected cases in the current outbreak of the ebola virus disease, or EVD. So far there have been 4,493 deaths. Of further concern, there have now been cases in the United States of America and a case of patient to nurse transmission in Spain. The Australian federal Department of Health has confirmed that there are still no cases of EVD in Australia and has reassured that the risk of an outbreak in Australia is very low. Minister, what is the government’s strategy to manage a case of EVD in Canberra?
MS GALLAGHER: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question and for the advice that he was to ask a question about ebola today and the ebola planning that is in place for the ACT community. This was a matter I was intending to update the Assembly on this week. It is important that I outline to the ACT community, and indeed to the ACT Assembly, the work that is underway across the ACT government and also reassure the ACT community that whilst the risks of a case here are very low and transmission of a case here even lower, the appropriate steps are being taken to prepare for that situation should it occur.
By way of background, this was a matter that was raised at COAG on 10 October and first ministers discussed arrangements that exist across Australia in relation to this. I am aware that on the same day health ministers also had a detailed discussion on it, although I could not be present there as I was at COAG. In addition, and prior to 10 October, the ACT cabinet was briefed as part of our security and emergency management committee meeting of cabinet by the Acting Chief Health Officer in relation to the likeliness of a case being here, the likeliness of an outbreak occurring here, and indeed the plans that would be implemented should a case emerge in the ACT. The Chief Health Officer obviously is the lead senior ACT public servant with responsibility for this and he, of course, represents the ACT on the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia.
Today, in addition to all of that, a senior officer group, or SENSOG, meeting was held across government to specifically discuss the whole-of-government planning and implications of the current ebola situation. Briefings at that meeting were provided by the Chief Health Officer, the chief officer of the Ambulance Service and other directorate senior executive representatives. The ACT Chief Health Officer again advised the meeting of the current low risk to the ACT, but the committee also noted that the ACT epidemic infectious disease plan is currently in place, although it has not been activated, and there was agreement that further work be done between ACT Health, ACT Ambulance Service and the Canberra airport as information is updated on the world situation, and indeed the information that is being shared across Australia, and that that meeting will reconvene within the next two weeks to discuss continued preparedness.
In addition to this there are operational plans that are in place in ACT Health for a range of different scenarios and for the ACT Ambulance Service should someone arrive. Different categories have been identified for particular situations—people returning from a country but who are not symptomatic, people returning from a country who may have some symptoms, and a handful of people returning from a known country where ebola is present with severe symptoms, and that creates a differential response based on that.
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