Australians fleeing the coronavirus in China could have been screened by medical personnel at the Richmond RAAF base in western Sydney and quarantined in hospitals here under a NSW Health plan, but that was rejected by the federal government. The state had "made it clear" it was willing and able to safely screen evacuees from Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province at Richmond and provide isolation, political and departmental sources said, but the federal government opted to send them to remote Christmas Island instead. The alternative plan can be revealed as the government hoped a second Qantas flight would be cleared to land in Wuhan overnight and rescue a further 200 stranded Australians. One of the evacuees already sent to Christmas Island, a young girl, is now being tested for coronavirus, while a third cruise ship was stuck at sea after the virus was found on board yesterday. The […]