Top Aussie doctor's dramatic warning to protesters
The head of the Australian Medical Association is asking the tens of thousands of people who attended Black Lives Matter rallies over the weekend to self-isolate for two weeks.
Dr Tony Bartone made the comments on radio station 3AW on Monday suggesting demonstrators stay at home and get tested for coronavirus if they develop any symptoms.
“Anyone attending any of those rallies must get tested for COVID-19 as soon as they develop any symptoms,” he said.
“In the spirit of an abundance of caution, it is appropriate that they consider their role and their position, and also look at the option of isolating themselves from the rest of the community for the next two-week period.”
It’s estimated gatherings in cities around Australia attracted around 60,000 people in total with Dr Bartone describing the mass gatherings as a hazard.
“Any mass gathering of that size, regardless of the cause, regardless of the position, has the potential to put the community at risk,” he said.
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Despite organisers at many of the protests urging demonstrators to wear masks and social distance, Dr Bartone said those who attended were still at risk.
"No matter how much hand sanitiser, no matter how much the masks were being worn, for those periods of time there is a risk of the virus passing," he told 3AW.
ABC Health Correspondent and host of the Coronacast podcast, Dr Norman Swan, said calling for everyone who attended the rallies to self-isolate for two weeks isolation is “a bit too far” but suggested attendees get tested.
“I would think that anybody who went to one of the protests should probably be tested after two or three days just to see whether or not they're carrying the virus,” he told the ABC.
Dr Swan praised those at the rallies who did wear masks and practise social distancing.
“If more than 60 per cent or 70 per cent of the people in those demonstrations were wearing masks and keeping their distance, the risk is reasonably low,” he added.
The chances of an outbreak from the protests
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said the likelihood of an outbreak due to the protests would be a case of “wait and see”.
“In terms of what the effect of that mass gathering is going to be, we have to accept that they have happened, and we have to wait and see what will happen as a result of the mass gatherings,” he said at a media conference on Monday.
He said the health recommendations for those who attended the protests were no different to those who didn’t.
“There is no current recommendation that people who attended those mass gatherings should do anything different, in fact, do exactly the same thing which is get tested if they become unwell,” he said.
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