A global pandemic requires a health system response that directs limited resources to those most in need. The Director General of the WHO formally declared the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to be a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern' on 30 January 2020, and issued a set of temporary recommendations 1. In Australia, the Prime Minister activated the 'Australian Health Sector Emergency Response Plan for Novel Coronavirus' 2 on 27 February 2020. The national plan outlined a strategy to reduce disease transmission and reduce the burden on the healthcare system. The first death attributable to COVID-19 in Australia was reported on 1

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