Geelong heads Australia’s coronavirus response

GEELONG will be the centre of Australia’s response to the coronavirus.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) recently approached the CSIRO to help determine the characteristics of the virus, as doing so aids the development of vaccines.

Geelong is home to CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory, which is one of only five Physical Containment Level 4 labs in the world.

CSIRO chief executive Dr Larry Marshall said the organisation was well-equipped to help.

“CSIRO is uniquely placed to combine our deep expertise in animal and human health, with capability in genetics, data and machine learning, to help fight this virus – but collaboration is key.

“As the national science agency, we can help bring together every branch of science and experts from across the system to tackle this major global health challenge.”

On January 30, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a Global Health Emergency, alerting all United Nations member states that they view the situation as very serious.

The WHO has only named five such emergencies since 2005 – the most recent, the Ebola and Zika viruses, were both in 2016.

Deakin University released their response to the coronavirus on January 28.

The university encouraged students with the virus to contact Student Central for support and advice.

Deakin also stated it would remain in close contact with relevant authorities to ensure the safety of their students and staff.

It is still not known how the coronavirus transmits or the source of infection, though the WHO has confirmed transmission is partly spread from person to person.