A man who recently travelled to Iran has become the fifth person in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) to be diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The male in his 40s arrived in Sydney from Iran on Feb. 22 and didn’t develop symptoms of COVID-19 until two days later.
He was tested on Feb. 28 and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Saturday, NSW Health said in a statement on Sunday.
The man has relatively minor symptoms and has been taken to Westmead Hospital.
He is the state’s fifth confirmed case of the virus with the four previous cases all having been discharged from hospital.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said another man in his 50s was also under investigation for possible COVID-19 based on his preliminary lab results.
“Travellers from Iran should be particularly vigilant for symptoms as there has been a rapid increase in COVID-19 activity there in recent days,” Dr. Chant said in a statement on Sunday.
The man in his 40s is the second person in Australia diagnosed with the virus after recently travelling to Iran.
A 63-year-old Gold Coast woman who recently returned from Iran is in isolation at the Gold Coast University Hospital after being confirmed to have the disease.
The federal government on Saturday advised Australians against travelling to Iran.
Under the new restrictions, Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family who’ve travelled to Iran will be required to self isolate at home for 14 days from the day they left the country.
Foreign nationals who are in Iran will be banned from entering Australia for 14 days, from the time they have left or transited through.
By Dominica Sanda
