Coronavirus serious but ‘not the great plague’

Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce says while the Australian government is taking the threat posed by the Coronavirus seriously, the disease does not pose a “great plague”-[like] risk. Health authorities have confirmed seven Australians have contracted the potentially deadly coronavirus, with a Chinese national in Queensland the latest patient. Coronavirus, which causes pneumonia-like symptoms, has a fatality rate of around three per cent according to the World Health Organisation. Mr Joyce told Sky News the disease poses a genuine health risk, which is why the government has opened Christmas Island as a way to slow the spread of the disease in Australia.