At least three staff members of the Formula 1 team have been forced to isolate themselves during the Australian Grand Prix while tests are carried out to see if they have a coronavirus.
Amid concerns about the impact that an epidemic of virus could have on the tightly knit paddock, the teams act with extreme caution to prevent any sick personnel from infecting anyone else.
In the wake of certain members of the team showing symptoms of fever on the track, an emergency plan was put in place to deal with the first cases.
A member of the McLaren team and two Haas personnel were assessed at the custom isolation unit on the Albert Park runway and swab tests were performed.
As the results of these tests could last several hours, the two teams confirmed that their staff had returned to their hotels and had been placed in a state of automatic isolation until it was known whether they had caught the virus .
It’s unclear what the implications will be for F1 and the Australian Grand Prix if one of the team members is confirmed to have a coronavirus.
Australia has stepped up attempts to contain the virus, announcing it will ban Italians from entering the country from Wednesday evening.
The move will not affect Italian Ferrari, AlphaTauri and Pirelli staff who have been able to travel to Melbourne before.
F1 released a statement earlier this week saying it is taking a scientific approach to dealing with the coronavirus crisis and is putting in place an action plan in the event of staff cuts.
“Dedicated teams of experts will be deployed at airports, transit points and circuits to protect staff, focused on the diagnosis, management and extraction of suspicious cases,” he added.
“Tailor-made quarantine points are installed by promoters for all suspicious cases.”
This comes just after Australian media reported that a citizen who attended a reception in an unopened hotel near the Albert Park circuit was diagnosed with COVID-19, having ignored the symptoms for several days.
The hotel is not open to the public at this time, however, no F1 personnel have been affected by this.
