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ABC News
ABC News
Health
By Lauren Roberts and Cameron Gooley

Despite safety 'guarantee' from experts, some Darwin residents are concerned about coronavirus evacuees

Tracey Farrar's son Bradley is a student at Good Shepherd Lutheran College, which is right next door to the planned quarantine centre.

As evacuees from the epicentre of a coronavirus outbreak are expected to arrive in Darwin today, parents of a school next door to the planned quarantine centre have flagged concerns about the lack of community consultation.

A Qantas plane carrying hundreds of Australians waiting to be evacuated from Wuhan, the coronavirus epicentre, was expected to arrive in Darwin on Saturday morning.

But that flight has been delayed after Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) was unable to secure clearance.

In an email to passengers, DFAT said it was working with Chinese authorities to reschedule the flight for sometime Saturday.

Tracey Farrar, said she was distraught when she heard the abandoned former Inpex workers' village was going to be used to house about 280 evacuees from Wuhan.

The site is next door to the Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Howard Springs, where Ms Farrar's son Bradley is a Year 9 student.

Ms Farrar said her son's school had sent a few texts to parents which explained staff were doing everything they could and would keep families informed.

"I am worried about my family and all of the people in the Northern Territory that had no choice in this, that seem to have had this decision thrust upon us," Ms Farrar said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Good Shepherd Lutheran College said the school was contacted by the Federal Government on Friday informing them of the decision.

"Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton contacted the College earlier today and has assured us that the health and welfare of students and staff will not be compromised in any way," the statement read.

"We are now awaiting further detailed information from the Minister's office on how the health and welfare of our students and staff will be ensured."

Even though health authorities say the virus is not easily transmitted person to person and moving evacuees will not put Territorians at rusk, Ms Farrar said she was still uncertain about the situation and plans to keep Bradley at home for at least 14 days.

"We need to look after Australians, I agree, but I just feel that this has gone a little bit rushed," she said.

"Our healthcare system is struggling, we have a lot of unwell people, our hospitals are at full capacity, we have compromised people here, and if something does happen, are we really equipped?"

Ms Farrar was disappointed by a lack of consultation by the Commonwealth before the decision was made.

A 'personal guarantee' from CMO

But Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy guaranteed that quarantining evacuees at the Howard Springs site would not put Territorians in danger.

"There is no way that we would put anyone in the community at even the slightest risk," he said.

"I personally will guarantee the safety of the community around Howard Springs."

Professor Murphy also said the infection was not easily spread between people.

"Even someone who is unwell cannot pass on this infection unless you are in close contact," he said.

Professor Murphy said anyone who became unwell would be "immediately quarantined" and taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for treatment.

Litchfield Mayor weighs in

The assurances have been welcomed by Litchfield Council Mayor Maree Bredhauer.

"I really am confident that the processes and the procedures that they are putting in place will keep our community safe and that's very important," she said.

Ms Bredhauer said while she was not part of the original decision-making process, she supported the decision to house evacuees at the Howard Springs camp.

"It is a big facility, it has great facilities, so perhaps it is a good place," she said.

The Litchfield Mayor wasn't perturbed that the Commonwealth decided to house people in the Howard Springs camp without consulting her first.

"These decisions are an Australian Government decision and they have to be," Ms Bredhauer.

"I don't think there is any other way that this could have happened."

Ms Bredhauer said while she understood parents' concerns, she urged people to read up on the facts and not be drawn into misinformation which was being spread on social media.

"Parents will make the decision that they have to make themselves around the safety of their children," she said.

"I'd be urging people to stay abreast of the facts."

Spike in racially-charged incidents in Darwin

Australia-China Friendship Society NT branch president Shu Li echoed the same call and encouraged Territorians to follow legitimate websites and not be drawn into alarmism.

She also welcomed the opportunity for Territorians to help Australians stranded in China.

"I think it is an important opportunity because this virus is not just a Chinese virus it affects everyone," she said.

"And people are coming from Wuhan are all Australian citizens."

Ms Li said since the outbreak of the virus, there had been an unfortunate spike in the number of racially-charged incidents in Darwin.

"Recently we do have people complaining about people being very rude towards Chinese people," she said.

"And then stories of people throwing glasses and saying something very unfriendly, its quite prevalent."

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the decision to use the Howard Springs camp had been made on Thursday.

Mr Hunt explained that each person would be screened five times before being checked into the Howard Springs facility; once in China, twice on the plane, on arrival in Darwin and a fifth time on arrival at the camp.

"To the residents what we are giving is absolute certainty that this is the highest standard of care," he said.

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