Australia’s reliance on China for essential medicines and equipment has been exposed by the coronavirus outbreak, according to Sky News host Rita Panahi. Ms Panahi expressed concern over how “dangerously unprepared” Australia was for a crisis of this scale. "This global pandemic has also exposed how dangerously underprepared Australia and the rest of the world is for a catastrophe of this scale and how dependent we've allowed our country to become on China for essential medical goods and pharmaceuticals,” she said. "The world has stood by and watched as China has built a near-monopoly on the pharmaceutical supply chain. "Our dependence on China would be a grave concern even it was an open democratic nation which shared our values, as we know, it is nothing of the sort. "Once we are through this global catastrophe we must ensure that we never again become so reliant on a destructive communist regime for essential medicines and medical equipment."