Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid.Credit:Peter de Kruijff
Dr Khorshid said people who caught COVID-19 in India might die,but otherwise would have survived with access to medical care in Australia. He said planning for alternatives for hotel quarantine must begin immediately.
He said he was yet to receive information from the federal government about any work they were doing to repatriate Australians from India following the pause on travel.
“We want to make sure that the government is committed to bringing Australians back who are exposed to this terrible pandemic,” he said.
“Because the reality is,if you catch COVID in India,you may not receive even some of the basic medical care such as oxygen. And if you don’t receive that,you have a much higher chance of dying from the disease and that just would not happen in Australia.”
The AMA and infectious diseases experts have slammed the failure ofAustralian governments to improve the safety of Australia’s hotel quarantine system so it is able to manage higher numbers of coronavirus cases.
Former Australian cricketer Michael Slater,who had been in India commentating for the Indian Premier League but has flown to the Maldives as he waits to return home,hasaccused the Prime Minister of having blood on his hands for banning Australians from returning home.
“How about you sort out quarantine system,” he wrote on Twitter.
“I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect.”
Dr Khorshid is set to speak to the Indian Medical Association on Tuesday night to establish what assistance the Australian medical profession can lend.
Do you know more? Contact Age health editor Aisha Dow at aisha.dow@theage.com.au