It was first reported that three Formula 1 team members were placed into isolation while awaiting tests amid concerns they might have contracted the virus. That number had since swelled to eight people being tested. These, apart from the McLaren team member, came back negative late on Thursday night, however, a ninth case involving a member of an Australian-based Supercars team is pending. The global coronavirus outbreak was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on Thursday. The government has also come under increasing pressure within Labor ranks to take drastic action to prevent the spread of the deadly virus as positive cases escalate and amid rising fears of a public health disaster.

Formula One racing champion Lewis Hamilton lashed out at the decision to proceed with the grand prix. "I am really very very surprised that we’re here," he said at a press conference on Thursday. "For me it is shocking that we are all sitting in this room." It comes as a person who sat in bay N42 on level two of the Northern Stand at the MCG during last Sunday's women's Twenty20 World Cup final was diagnosed with COVID-19 and a reveller at the Golden Plains music festival also tested positive. Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton is bewildered the Grand Prix in Melbourne is going ahead as coronavirus grips the world. Credit:Getty Despite the barrage of criticism, Victoria's Health Minister Jenny Mikakos remained insistent the grand prix would go ahead.

"We have not reached a point where we need to be saying the grand prix needs to be cancelled because we do not have a single case of community transmission in Victoria," she said. "When we get to a point where we need to take extreme measures, we will not hesitate to do so." Ms Mikakos said if people were unwell they should not be attending work or any social gatherings. "It’s not just the grand prix that is on this weekend, weddings, funerals, concerts, there are many many gatherings of Victorians coming together." Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

At one point during the tense press conference on Thursday, Ms Mikakos interjected as the deputy health officer was taking questions to tell reporters that the government was pushing to fast-track its testing capabilities. The government has said it would listen to the advice of health experts despite Lewis Hamilton’s spray on Thursday. More than 5000 Victorians have been tested for COVID-19 with 27 testing positive. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt also backed the Formula One racing event, saying the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the nation’s chief medical body, had so far found "no grounds" to cancel mass gatherings. Labor MP Bill Shorten told Sky News Australia must follow the lead of other countries that had adopted "draconian" measures, but stopped short of calling for the grand prix to be called, conceding it had already started.

Federal Labor MP Josh Burns, whose Macnamara electorate takes in the grand prix track, posted on Facebook that he would not go to the event, telling the public: "I don’t think you should either". However, he added that he supported whatever decision was made by the state government and health officials. Victorian opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier also voiced doubt. "Daniel Andrews and the Chief Health Officer must urgently explain to Victorians if they believe it is safe to attend the grand prix and if so, why," she said. More than 4290 people have died from the virus across the globe. The total number of coronavirus cases has reached 128 across Australia.

UNSW Professor Marylouise McLaws, an infection control expert and adviser to the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 preparedness group, urged Victorians to stay away. "We really want to keep the numbers to small clusters and we don’t want to amplify it with these social events," she said. Loading Infectious Diseases and Immunology Professor Nigel McMillan and Victorian Australian Medical Association president Julian Rait also urged Australians to avoid the race. Professor McMillan said it was impossible to gauge the extent of human-to-human transmission in Australia until more widespread testing was rolled-out.