This comes as the death toll rises to more than 900 globally, with 40,000 people now infected.

Dr.

Tony but Tony from the Australian Medical Association joins us now.

Tony, thanks for your time this morning, as we just heard more confirmed cases on the Diamond Princess, the number of Australians infected now stands at 11.

Does this mean that the quarantine isn't working?

No, it doesn't.

And good morning to you, Allie, into your viewers.

It means what?

That obviously the incubation period being what it is, the day these people, before the quarantine was in place, that they were obviously in close proximity.

Close contact.

And that's why we're having that 14 day quarantine period to say the evolution and the they're coming out of only anyone who was infected.

So that's what the what These numbers show the close, close proximity on the reasons why the quarantine was put in place in the first place.

What doctor?

We're hearing reports this morning that the incubation period could in fact be 28 days, not 14.

Well, it's true, alley that we are learning more about this virus as we go along A ll the time and that information gathering will obviously inform our our recommendations out guidelines at the moment, the best.

The best information we've got that it is 14 days.

We've had cases in Australia where that viral people who were diagnosed with that virus have now Beene cured.

They've eliminated the virus from this system and they're very returned back to the community.

So on on the balance of passed information and current observable information, 14 days is the recommended period.

But of course the information is being collected, and some of that changes in a real time manner.

Do you tell you what it sounds like?

There's an awful lot it's not known.

Isn't there about this virus?

And when you were just trying to keep up with it?

What a collier.

You're in that respect.

You're right, because basically stole there are trying to identify Whit where it crossed over from the animal species that came.

It's four to be a back corona virus on.

So you know that there's a team of W H O Reacher researchers going into the epicenter to try and identify exactly how it evolved.

That information will add to the the We were relying on China to give you that information and the World Health Authority.

I mean, look, I think they're having a nightmare at the moment.

World Health Authority, I mean, and the flow of information from China through to them through to us, it's an absolute muzzle.

It's clear that there has been some areas where the information hasn't flowed in the as best as it could have.

That's why the governor, Australian authorities, have taken such a cautious approach right from the beginning and why we have seen the relatively few number of cases that we have here in Australia.

Okay, British Airways are just on that.

British Airways has announced this morning it will be cutting flights from Beijing and Shanghai if given the fact that we don't know much about, there's a lot of information we don't know about this virus and the incubation may be increased now.

Would it not be prudent that we all stop these flights coming in and out of that particular of those particular areas for the time being.

Well, the Australian government made the announcement the weekend before like a last about the trouble bay.

Another the travel advisory, the highest level advisory going to China in terms of many commercial airlines.

They've stopped flying flights out of China.

The quarantine that we've put in place in the the the fact that visas won't be issued to people coming out who have traveled through trainer in the last 14 days.

There's some of the measures that are already in place to try and protect on dhe.

Minimize the possibility of spread in this country.

Doctor Paternity.

We look at the deaths from Corona virus.

I mean, they're pretty much all in China.

No one has died here or has even being really that sick.

Why is that?

Look one of the reasons, I suppose that people who were traveling tend to be well in the beginning in the first place, whereas the people that have suffered the significant complications that unfortunately have been killed by this virus have people with other pre existing conditions asthma, lung conditions, diabetes, heart disease so they're already at a disadvantage when trying to fight off.

It's not a nuclear new Corona virus.

Okay, well, Dr obviously we'll stay across thesis.

There's much more to learn about the Corona virus.

We appreciate your time this morning.

Yeah.