Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the case of the male healthcare professional "is particularly concerning because he has not travelled overseas as far as we can work out at this point … for at least three months," indicating that he had contracted the virus "on Australian soil". The doctor had been in direct contact with patients before he became seriously unwell and was treated in ICU. He is in a stable condition. NSW Health was working to identify all individuals with whom the doctor has been in contact while potentially infectious including patients and co-workers, as well as discover how he contracted the virus. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant did not disclose in which hospital the healthcare professional worked, but said further information would be provided once NSW Health had contacted all of his close contacts. The sister of a 43-year-old man who was diagnosed with COVID-19 after travelling from Iran also tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.

“The particularly challenging aspect of that and concerning to us is that she has not travelled to Iran,” Mr Hazzard said. Loading "So it would appear that there is at least a high likelihood of transmission here in NSW… from her brother,” Mr Hazzard said, not ruling out transmission from “other connections”. Dr Chant conceded the new cases meant it was possible other COVID-19 cases have been overlooked. “It’s always possible there’s a case out there we could have missed,” she said.

“But I am reassured that there isn't widespread transmission because we are doing lots of testing." She said more than 3500 people have been tested for COVID-19 and "high rates of testing" continue. "Our first job is to contact staff or patients that have been in close contact with this person." Anyone who has been to Iran should remain “particularly vigilant” of COVID-19 symptoms, she said. There is some conjecture as to whether these coronavirus cases are the first locally acquired.

A communique from the COVID-19 National Incident Room Surveillance Team dated February 22 said there was evidence of "limited secondary transmission of COVID-19" for three people in a five-person cluster in Queensland. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Monday afternoon. Credit:AAP The cluster of confirmed COVID-19 cases was part of a small group of nine people from mainland China that had been travelling together, the document read. Mr Hazzard said the health department was being transparent about what they knew so far of the new cases, and the community should be “cautious and not alarmed”. “I won’t be changing anything about what I do on a daily basis,” he said. But he advised the public to forgo handshakes for "a pat on the back".

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said it was "highly likely" that more cases would emerge - but that people should "go about their daily business". "COVID-19 represents a significant risk to Australia – and we continue to manage that risk based on the best and latest medical advice," he said on Monday evening. "It is important to reiterate the great majority – more than 80 per cent – of people diagnosed with COVID-19 have a mild illness, so mild that the symptoms are often barely noticed. "If you do get symptoms, such as fever and cough, and are a returned traveller or potential contact with someone who may have COVID-19, please isolate yourself and seek medical advice. This is how we can best reduce the spread." Search for passengers continues

NSW Health is also searching for the unsuspecting passengers who were seated near a woman diagnosed with the new coronavirus on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Sydney. The woman in her 50s became the sixth confirmed case of COVID-19 in NSW after returning to Australia from Iran. She arrived in Sydney on flight QR908 from Iran at 6.50pm on February 23 and started to feel ill almost immediately. "Anyone on that flight … should be very aware that there was someone on the flight who had the coronavirus," Mr Hazzard said at an earlier press conference on Monday. Loading

The woman did not keep her flight ticket and her seat number is not known, Dr Chant said. NSW Health is in contact with the airline to determine where she sat and to identify passengers who sat in the two rows in front of, and behind, her to alert them to the possibility that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus, Dr Chant said. Those "close contacts" will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days, she said. "We will be reaching out as soon as we have [their] contact details." Mr Hazzard said any passengers on the flight with flu-like symptoms should contact their doctor. "If you have any doubts or thoughts that [it] may be the coronavirus, please ring ahead to your GP or ring ahead to the local emergency department so they are aware and can take the appropriate steps to keep everyone safe," he said.