I'm delighted to be joined by the federal education minister damn 10 wth e deputy premier of Victoria and State Education Minister James Molina, the chief medical officer, Professor Brendan Murphy.

And we have education representatives here as well.

I'd like to give an update on Corona virus and then we'll talk about an important development towards normalization.

As off today.

The latest figures that we have globally are that there are 77,617 cases off Corona virus, a virus that had been diagnosed and confirmed around the world.

Sadly, over 2300 people 2356 people precisely that have lost their lives to Corona virus.

We also know that tomorrow 266 people from the third group who have been in quarantine in Australia are said to return home that they have been at the how'd Springs temporary quarantine facility in Darwin.

They came on the evacuation flight from move hand, which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade arranged in which Qantas very professionally and thankfully carried out with support off Oz.

Matt Cruz.

What that has seen is 1/3 successive and successful quarantine operation being completed that there have been no cases recorded in any of those 1st 3 operations.

The general population numbers in Australia remained at 15.

That has been stable for some weeks.

10 of those 15 have recovered and returned home.

It is important to advise that precisely as the chief medical officer had anticipated and as expected, the cases have been diagnosed within the new group that have come specifically from the Diamond Princess.

At this reaffirms the decision we made not just to conduct an airlift, but to ensure that these people were in supervised quarantine in a separate area within the How'd springs facility that there are now six Australians who have been on the Diamond Princess and have been brought to the quarantine facility in Howard Springs who have been diagnosed with Corona virus.

All are being or have already being repatriated in some cases by medevac to their home states wonder Western Australia one to South Australia and today the four new cases, which brings to a total of six, will include two to Victoria and two to Queensland, a lar well and in a stable condition.

But they had been diagnosed and therefore they've been put into an isolation on containment process before being many back thio their hospitals.

As I say, this was both anticipated and for warned.

But it also explains the reason we made the difficult decision to impose I supervised quarantine, right Jane.

More broadly, however, all governments have received advice from the medical experts, the chief health and medical officers of All states, territories and the Commonwealth and and if I may, the advice received is that covered.

19 has been contained in Australia with no new cases in the general population in the last week.

In addition, the advice that comes from the medical officers goes on.

There has been an apparent slowing in case numbers in other provinces of mainland China suggestive off better containment.

So in short, what we have seen is a reduction from over 700 cases a day outside of Hugh Bay across mainland China down to below 70 and this is a very important international development backed up by what we have seen in Australia and tells the consequence of that.

The what is known as the Australian Health Protection Principals Committee has recommended to the federal government and to all of the governments that current containment measures need continual review for proportionality and in particular, they have recommended that the ability of border force to provide case by case exemptions be continued and that in particular that should include consideration of your 11 and 12 secondary school students from mainland China, excluding Cuba.

And so we have considered that accepted that advice and there will be a limited number off cases on a double green like basis the Commonwealth has to approve and each state territory has to approve.

But this advice from the health officials has been unanimous.

It has been accepted by the Commonwealth in the states, and then it will be up to each individual state, too.

Add heat to the circumstances.

So I want to thank our medical expert, asked the chief medical officer.

Thio briefly explain the advice and the state on then finally turned over to our two education minister's thank you Thanks, minister.

So, as Mr Hunt said, we are confident that if we allow in a small number off additional people from mainland China, that's not kind of pose any material increase in risk to the population.

We are already, as you know, allowing in the Australian citizens and permanent residents.

And the good news in the last few weeks from mainland China has been that there have been very, very few exported cases off this disease from mainland China.

The last official Candace or was only about six and we've certainly see none in this country.

So we think that a small increase as proposed thes year 11 and 12 students represented really relatively small number of students.

But if state territory, chief health officers and public health units a confident that they could be home isolated for their 14 days, the same conditions that were requiring for everybody has come from mainland China, but that could get them back into the country without closing any material risk to our population.

But it's up to state territory, health authorities and clearly up to the schools to want to do that too.

So we're not imposing anything.

We're saying that this is a pathway where a ll everything's ticked that can go ahead just on the situation in for the people who come back from the diamond Princesses, Minister Hunt said.

Way now I feel very strongly that out Proposal airplane to quarantine those people, even though many of them felt that they'd had 14 days of proper quarantine on the boat was completely justified.

It does seem clear that there was some ongoing transmission of the virus on the boat in those last few days, as we've seen from those six people who have Bean tested positive over the last two days.

Fortunately as minister and said, they remain will.

And it is one of the most positive things about this virus that a lot of people do have very mild disease.

So I think I'll stop there thinking hand often, Mr Team, Thanks, Brendan.

So just to be very clear, based on the expert medical advice, the Australian government, in collaboration with state and territory governments, will allow on a case by case basis year 11 and 12 students from China outside of who, by province to be able to come to Australia to resume their studies.

Now this will be based on a 13 step process.

So it is a strict pathway that we are adopting.

I would like to thank all my counterpart of the state and territory level all the education minister's of the state and territory level who have been in contact with over the last 24 hours who have supported this decision.

It is incredibly important that we get some normality back to the international student market.

Now this is a small step that we are taking.

As off said it is a precautionary step because it requires 1/3 in step process.

It requires the green light off the state and territory government, each state and territory government.

There is no compulsion for stating territory governments to adopt this.

But if they want to, then the Commonwealth government will work with state and territory authorities, both education authorities and health authorities to allow on a case by case basis, year 11 and 12 Chinese students to return to Australia.

We will obviously, based on the medical advice next week, also then walk at international tertiary education students.

Now that will be done next week and will be once again based on the medical expert advice.

At this stage, we're looking at year and year 11 and 12 students, but the medical advice is said that in a week way could look at what would happen with tertiary education students.

But no decision has been taken with regards to tertiary education students, and no decision will be taken until we get the relevant medical advice.

Which would say steps could be taIking are they like toe hand over to the deputy premier off Victoria and the Victorian Education minister James Molino and James.

Can I just thank you for the collaborative way that you have dealt with the Commonwealth government since the Corona viruses impacted on into international education market?

It is greatly appreciated by the Commonwealth government and by me in particular, and I thank you for that.

Well, thanks very much, Dan.

Thank you for those comments and this has been an issue, a significant international issue.

And there's been strong collaboration and cooperation between our come off government and state territory governments.

I'm really pleased here today to be joining both Gregor's Federal Health Minister Dan Tina's federal education minister.

In this small but important step forward for our international students, I want to say every every step of the way.

Every piece of advice that we've given schools by government and non government has been based on the expert medical advice at by Brendan at a national level and Victoria's chief health officer, and this is the next step forward.

In that respect, I'm also joined by Jules English.

Jill is the principle of Strathmore Secondary College, which is a fantastic secondary school here in Melbourne, has a really strong international student program, some 70 students as part of the International Student Program and the announcement that we're making today impacts on six of those students who I currently remained in China.

This has been a significant issue for all their schools in Victoria, we have some 389 v c A student's in mainland China, the highest off all state and territories.

New South wise, I think, is around 153 and then other states and territories have a smaller number, but this has been a significant issue rise with mai by principles.

Universities have some flexibility in terms off that the timelines and what they can, but they can change to meet the needs of international students that accord up in the Corona virus and the travel restrictions.

It's much more difficult invasive every day count every week counts in principle Spain signed to May as soon as a soon as we're able, can we prioritize VC eight students?

And that's exactly what we're doing today.

It will be, as both Greg and Dan said on a case by case nature students will need to be both screened in China screen when they arrived in Australia and have 14 days in self isolation.

But it will give the school's much greater ability to engage with those students in terms off their teaching and learning.

S O will be able to answer questions from on the ground perspective, a school delivering international education, But from the Victorian government, this is a welcome step forward.

Hopefully will be in a position in the next in the next little while are to further enable tertiary international students access.

But this is an important a small but important step forward.

Questions just I know you said the numbers for Victoria, Australia wide, How many?

You're 11 in China or expect well, there's 760 students, approximately in China s O.

We would anticipate that a large proportion of those might consider to use thes step by step exemption, but ultimately it will be up to the individual student and, of course, individual states and territories wanting to participate in the strict pathway that were put in place to enable those students to return to Australia.

All right, um hearts infections in Australia After lightest numbers with inferences, Shoot 21 is the correct figure.

That's 15 in the general public, all of whom were either travelers from or associate with, people who had been traveling in Wu Han and then six who have been on the Diamond Princess.

That one from Western Australia, one from South Australia, two from Queensland and two from Victoria.

Can you just clarify every comment?

Cars big contain Australia.

There's been a lot of community, sadly, people, according to local Chinatown, because this information and people being frightened about touching it, I guess how racial that far it's ready.

So I think the advice off the medical experts, which is written down and published it publicly available.

Covert 19 has been contained in Australia.

Up is the language off the chief health and medical officers around the country, and so we've been able to do that through immense community cooperation, cooperation with states and the work off the federal medical authorities.

That isn't to say that this will always be the case, but we are doing as well as anybody around the world could could hope to do.

And against that background, it's safe, a CZ, the Victorian government said.

And as the chief medical officer has said to be out in the community, we encourage people to be out in the community, too, whether it's a Chinese restaurant.

I was down on walking by again, last night's with Tommy and, uh, and this time it was the There's taking black bean sauce.

Ah, but whether it's to visit the shopping Sanders and Chad Stone and other places that have been suffering or a little Bourke Street, so be out there, support your Chinese Australians, support the community and insider in so doing, give yourself the chance to bay really part of the community.

I had season pork with Ginger last.

Okay, 77,000 I guess.

Do you think so?

I think that's too early to say the moment.

So there some good signs in China of containment outside of Hugh Bay, But Hubei Province is still showing growth and growth in mortality, but it is locked down.

At the moment, there are concerns about the size of outbreaks in some other countries, such as Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Korea.

They're all countries with pretty good health systems and they're working very hard to control it.

But so we're still in a stage where we have to be very cautious about making predictions about containment at the moment.

But as Minister Han City in Australia, we have had no evidence whatsoever of community transmission.

The only people who have transmitted in Australia, where a tiny tour group from Wu Han who are in a bus.

It's more minibus together.

No one in the Australian community has transmitted this virus.

We've tested thousands and thousands of people in this country.

It is completely safe to go out in your community.

And I have said many times before a poor in the xenophobia that is being exhibited in some parts of the community.

Just so, Ah, along with Brendan, the prime minister, I visited the Dhoti Institute here in Victoria, the first place in the in the world to grow and share the virus.

They're working very closely with the University of Queens and so this is an extremely promising development.

This breakthrough on the path to vaccine here in Australia is a world leading development.

We should be immensely proud.

Just this week we were announced $2 million to help with the search for a vaccine.

Could I just add to that Great Sorry, but just can I just come in the University of Queensland for the work that they've done?

And it really shows the importance of education and the importance of our international education sector.

The University of Queensland has gone beyond to try and make sure that they can seek a cure for the virus putting place a vaccine.

They doing outstanding work.

And it shows how important once again, education whether a bit the school sector or the higher education level is to our nation.

It's a racing calvary where you had any?

Uh no, because this relates to, uh, students from mainland China.

What I would do is say this that as Brendan and as Brandon and the chief health officers have said, we've seen signs off increasing containment in mainland China and that's allowing the world to consider first steps towards normalization.

Our first job is to keep Australian Saif a second job is to begin the path of returning to normalization.

And today we take a first careful, medically advised cautious step, which is about protecting Australians but allowing steps back on the path to recovery.

I can't think that there we go.

Thank you very much.

Like to win nationals s o.

The health and medical officers around the country have indicated that later this week they will conduct a review.

We have nothing in terms of medical advice.

They've signaled that will be conducted light of this week and then that will be provided to the various governments and again, that will depend on the growth and containment outside off you bay in mainland China.