It will be interesting to see whether this advice is correct:
Mr Dutton remains in a Brisbane hospital on Saturday after announcing he had tested positive for the virus on Friday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office said cabinet ministers who met with Mr Dutton on Tuesday would not be required to self-isolate.
“In advice provided to the Prime Minister this evening, the deputy Chief Medical Officer has reiterated that only people who had close contact with the minister in the preceding 24 hours before he became symptomatic need to self-isolate,” Mr Morrison’s office said.
“That does not include the Prime Minister or any other members of the cabinet.”
The NYT story linked in my previous post had an important link to a recent article in Lancet that suggests to me that it might not be:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30567-5
BTW if you read my post by email, look at the original as the NYT link is not visible in the email.
The Lancet study estimates an infectious incubation period of 5 to 6 days before symptoms and a typical delay between symptoms and isolation of 2 to 7 days. (see appendices).
Dutton reported symptoms promptly and was isolated more quickly after only 1 day of symptoms. But that does not imply he must also have had an usually short incubation period. I don’t see why he could not have been infectious 6 days before. Tuesday to Friday is not 6 days.
It is interesting that a US cabinet member who had contact with Dutton a week earlier is not following similar advice:
US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and US Attorney General William Barr are working from home a week after meeting with Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who on Friday revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19.
The White House said that given Mr Dutton was not showing any symptoms during his US trip Ms Trump and Mr Barr did not need to self-quarantine, but they are working from home “out of an abundance of caution”.
“The Attorney General is feeling great and not showing any symptoms,” a US Department of Justice spokeswoman told Nine newspapers.
Perhaps the US government is more aware of how seriously the medical profession regards politicians as a biosecurity hazard that need to be prevented from interfering with management of pandemic emergencies by any means necessary. The more cabinet Ministers unable to work, the safer the rest of us will be.
C21st Left 