Журнал. World association for medical law. The COVID-19 pandemic. Volume 39 2

99 Medicine and Law symptoms (1) . The same release also stated (1) , “… Human Coronavirus with Pandemic potential is now a Listed Human Disease under the Biosecurity Act 2015, enabling the use of enforced border measures.…” (1) . At this time, Prof Murphy released an ‘Alert’ statement and advised the States and Territories of the risks and relied on an ‘honour system’ for people with symptoms, on arrival to Australia, to notify the airline involved or a bio- security officer, upon disembarking (1) . If symptoms developed within the week of their arrival, they were to attend their local practitioner and, if they had arrived from Wuhan, they should “… call ahead to ensure others aren’t put at risk…” (1) . By the end of January 2020, there were 9 cases of COVID-19 infection in Australia (3) and foreign nationals, returning to Australia from China, had to spend 2 weeks in a third country, before being allowed to enter Australia. By the end of February, Prof Ian McKay, a virologist from the University of Queensland, reported, “… we are probably heading for that Pandemic even if the WHO does not want to call it that yet…” (4) . By this time, deaths had been reported outside China, including Iran, Italy and South Korea (4) . Prof McKay advised people to ensure they had significant “… medication and essential foods, such as canned foods, some pasta or food that can give us fibre, carbohydrate and protein for 2 weeks, if things were to interrupt the supply chain for food…” (4) . It was, more likely than not, comments, such as these, which sparked a rush on toilet paper, hand sanitiser, flour, rice, pasta, paper towels and caused the supermarkets and grocery stores to limit supply to customers, such that they could only take 1 unit of some products and 2 units of others. This occurred despite Prof McKay counselling against panic buying and hoarding (4) . By the end of February 2020, the Federal Government outlined some of its Pandemic responses, such as: cancelling large gatherings; people working from home; and boosting the capabilities of hospitals (4) . The message was that the State and Territory Governments were responsible for: public health responses; contact tracing; distribution of antiviral drugs; social distancing (including closing schools and work places, quarantining people, cancelling events and possibly shutting down public transport); implementing infection control guidelines; and protecting people in aged care facilities and institutions. By mid March, schools, across Australia, were preparing for mass closures (5) after the Prime Minister, Mr Scott Morrison, announced the ban on gatherings