While, at the time of writing, there have been no reported cases of the coronavirus in the ACT that doesn't mean residents shouldn't start taking precautions to minimise possible exposure.
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Canberra has a very mobile, and ethnically diverse, population. The resumption of parliament, commencement of the 2020 academic year at local schools and universities and return to "business as normal" for public service departments and local businesses after the summer break will see thousands of people flocking to the city from all around the world.
While the chances one of those returnees or first time visitors is carrying the virus are probably slim it would be foolhardy to assume what has already happened in Queensland and Victoria, where a total of five cases had been identified as of late on Monday, won't happen here.
It would do no harm at all to adopt some of the excellent, and commonsense, advice being offered by medical experts.
A fact sheet issued by the Harvard Medical School warns against undue panic, noting the only way of catching the virus is to be exposed to somebody who already has it.
With only five known Australian cases this is not very likely at this point.
The downside is people who have been exposed to the virus, but who have not yet shown symptoms, do have the capacity to spread it to others through coughs, sniffles and sneezes.
According to the Harvard experts really simple measures such as washing your hands regularly with soap, covering coughs and sneezes with your inner elbow (not your hands) and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, mouth or hands are all effective deterrents.
They urge anybody who develops a fever to stay home from work or school and say it is best to steer clear of others who are displaying signs of respiratory illness. Symptoms to watch out for are a runny nose, coughing and sneezing.
If you develop these symptoms and suspect you may have been exposed to an infected person, either through overseas travel or contact with someone who has travelled overseas, contact your doctor.
We ignore outbreaks such as this at our peril.
We ignore outbreaks such as this at our peril. The greatest calamities to have ever befallen the human race have been diseases.
Plagues ravaged the ancient world, often taking centuries to travel across the face of the globe.
In more recent times the pace of the spread has accelerated. The first reports of the black death were logged in central Asia around 1334. It reached Russia by 1345 and Constantinople by 1347. The plague was killing people in Great Britain in 1350 and, after a short period of dormancy, flared again in 1374.
Between 75 million and 200 million people out of a global population of between 360 million and 432 million people were killed.
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919 spread much more quickly thanks to improvements in transport and the demobilisation of troops after World War I.
When SARS, which killed 774 of the 8098 people it infected between November 2002 and April 2003, it spread across the globe in a matter of months.
The coronavirus is spreading even faster still thanks to the significant escalation in the number of people travelling internationally in the last 17 years.
While some technology has not always been our friend when it comes to dealing with pandemics, the work of our researchers and medical experts will play an important role in putting this ugly genie back into its bottle.
In the meantime wash your hands, cover your mouth and nose and, if you aren't feeling well, stay home.