The US government is using research led by University of Newcastle academic Craig Dalton to slow the spread of the coronavirus in America.
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President Donald Trump and leading US health authorities, including White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci, gave a media briefing at the White House on Tuesday in which the Australian team's paper took centre stage.
Dr Birx and Dr Fauci issued guidelines for American homes, schools and workplaces they said were based on the paper, which Dr Dalton wrote with Sydney University's Stephen Corbett and Australian National University's Anthea Katelaris.
"All of this information came from a report that Dr Fauci provided from the Australians, first author Dalton, so that you can look up the scientific evidence that informed each of these guidelines," Dr Birx told the assembled media.
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The report notes that China has constrained transmission of the COVID-19 virus through "rapid and intensive containment and mitigation interventions".
"Most countries only attempt social distancing and hygiene interventions when widespread transmission is apparent. This gives the virus many weeks to spread with a higher basic reproduction number than if they were in place before transmission was detected or widespread," it says.
It goes on to offer practical advice on how to prevent transmission of the disease, including "no handshaking" policies in workplaces, taking lunch at your desk, outdoor school lessons and limiting ill household members to one carer.
Dr Birx said the paper offered "practical and commonsense" advice which was "detailed in a way that everyone would know precisely what to do".
Dr Dalton, a public health physician, said all he knew of the Americans employing his team's paper was what he had seen from the White House press briefing.
"I received an email a little while back from someone saying they were a friend of Anthony Fauci's and they'd sent it on to them," he said.
"It sounds like the paper I wrote. It probably is; I just haven't had the validation directly from the US yet."
He said the paper was a "pre-print" written between February 28 and March 5, but he was pleased to see it being used.
"It's not so much research as recommendations based on our synthesis of research, very basic, practical recommendations.
"We hoped it would find traction somewhere, and it's good to see that it's got that traction there in the US.
"It's probably safe to assume there is widespread transmission in areas of the country that hasn't been recognised yet, so to begin with this pre-emptive, low-level intervention to decrease transmission can really help."
Dr Fauci told the White House briefing that Dr Dalton's paper was "exactly saying what we had been talking about". His team had "edited it a little" before releasing it to the American public.
US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams said COVID-19 patients aged over 60 were far more likely to develop complications from the illness than younger people.
He said the virus was relatively harmless to children, who were "more likely to die from the flu".
Dr Dalton's recommendations
WORKPLACES
No handshaking policy
Promote cough and sneeze etiquette (but focus is on excluding ill staff)
Videoconferencing as default for meetings
Defer large meetings
Enforced sanitisation of hands at entrance
Regular hand sanitation schedule reminders via email
Lunch at desk rather than in lunch room
Gamifying hygiene rules e.g. to discourage touching face
Ill* people stay at home and ill workers immediately isolated
Hold necessary meetings outside in open air if possible
Staff with ill household contacts should stay at home**
Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly and between users
Work from home where possible and consider staggering of staff where there is no loss of productivity from remote work
Consider opening windows and adjusting air conditioning
Limit food handling and sharing of food in the workplace
Assess staff business travel risks
Enhance hygiene and screening for illness among food preparation (canteen) staff and their close contacts.
Analyse the root cause of crowding events on site and prevent through rescheduling, staggering, cancelling.
SCHOOLS
Supervised sanitisation of hands at entrance and at regular intervals
Defer activities that lead to mixing between classes and years
Promote cough and sneeze etiquette (but focus on excluding ill persons)
Strict stay-at-home policy if ill
Gamifying hygiene rules (e.g. to discourage touching face)
Regular handwashing schedule
Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly and between users
Outdoor lessons where possible
Consider opening windows and adjusting air-conditioning
Enhance hygiene and screening for illness among food preparation (canteen) staff and their close contacts
Review after-school care arrangements that lead to mixing of children from multiple classes and ages
HOUSEHOLDS
Enhanced hand sanitisation
Gamifying hygiene rules (e.g. to discourage touching face)
Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly
"Welcome if you are well" signs on front door
Increase ventilation rates in the home by opening windows or adjusting air-conditioning
Promote cough and sneeze etiquette
Households with ill members (in addition to measures above)
Ill household members are given own room if possible and only one person cares for them
The door to the ill persons room is kept closed
Wearing simple surgical/dust masks by both infected persons and other family members caring for the case
Consider extra protection or alternative accommodation for household members over 65 years or with underlying illness
COMMERCIAL, ENTERTAINMENT, TRANSPORT SETTINGS
Sanitisation of hands at building entrance encouraged
Tap and pay preferred to limit handling of money
Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly
Avoiding crowding through booking and scheduling, online pre-purchasing, limiting attendance numbers
Enhance hygiene and screening for illness among food preparation staff and their close contacts
Enhance airflow and adjust air-conditioning
Public transport workers/taxi/ride share vehicle windows opened where possible
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
