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Background: On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization recognised clusters of pneumonia-like cases due to a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 became a pandemic 71 days later. Aim(s): To report the clinical and epidemiological features, laboratory data and outcomes of the first group of 11 returned travellers with COVID-19 in Australia. Method(s): This is a retrospective, multi-centre case series. All patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were admitted to tertiary referral hospitals in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. Result(s): The median age of the patient cohort was 42 years (interquartile range (IQR), 24-53 years) with six men and five women. Eight (72.7%) patients had returned from Wuhan, one from Shenzhen, one from Japan and one from Europe. Possible human-to-human transmission from close family contacts in gatherings overseas occurred in two cases. Symptoms on admission were fever, cough and sore throat (n = 9, 81.8%). Co-morbidities included hypertension (n = 3, 27.3%) and hypercholesterolaemia (n = 2, 18.2%). No patients developed severe acute respiratory distress nor required intensive care unit admission or mechanical ventilation. After a median hospital stay of 14.5 days (IQR, 6.75-21), all patients were discharged. Conclusion(s): This is a historical record of the first COVID-19 cases in Australia during the early biocontainment phase of the national response. These findings were invaluable for establishing early inpatient and outpatient COVID-19 models of care and informing the management of COVID-19 over time as the outbreak evolved. Future research should extend this Australian case series to examine global epidemiological variation of this novel infection.Copyright © 2021 Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Background In 2011, the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved the use of alcohol-based rubs for hand antisepsis in surgical settings in Australia. The purpose of this research was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of operating room healthcare professionals with respect to alcohol-based surgical rubs in order to gain insight into the potential barriers and enablers to their uptake. Methods A descriptive, two-phase study assessed operating room healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions towards the use of alcohol-based surgical rubs within a large multi-campus public health care service in Melbourne, Australia. Results Central to the successful uptake of alcohol-based surgical rubs is the provision of education that emphasises the significant benefits the rubs bring to patient safety and to staff occupational health, specifically with respect to hand skin integrity. Other enablers included distributing international evidence demonstrating their safety and efficacy and the revision to the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses Standard's other relevant policies, standards, and guidelines within health services. Inclusion of alcohol-based surgical rub protocols in national standards was deemed and important motivator. While most participants welcomed the introduction of alcohol-based surgical rubs, changing tradition and culture were reported as significant barriers to its uptake. Conclusions Identifying the likely motivators and barriers to change will assist in the uptake of alcohol-based surgical rubs. Further research should examine the actual barriers and enablers to the uptake of alcohol-based surgical rubs that materialised in organisations following the approval and their introduction into Australian surgical settings. © 2012 Australian Infection Control Association.