FOI 25-0032 LD – Information Pertaining To The Methodology Used For COVID-19 Surveillance

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This FOI release provides CDNA National Guidelines for managing Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Australian public health units. The guidelines, originally developed in October 2014 and updated in July 2015, classify MERS-CoV as an urgent public health priority and a nationally notifiable disease. Key recommendations include isolating suspected, probable, and confirmed cases in single rooms with negative pressure air handling and ensuite bathrooms, implementing standard and transmission-based precautions (contact and airborne), and applying work and travel restrictions to close contacts of probable and confirmed cases. The guidelines were endorsed by CDNA on 24 July 2015 and noted by AHPPC on 14 August 2015. Updates incorporated revised evidence from the 2015 Republic of South Korea outbreak and WHO recommendations on testing asymptomatic close contacts in hospital outbreak contexts. The document emphasizes that guidelines represent