Coronavirus sufferers placing GPs at risk

Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ) president Dr Dilip Dhupelia said anyone who has fallen ill within 14 days of returning from overseas should call - and not visit - their GP, or contact an emergency hotline.

But people are not heeding that message.

"If you return from overseas and have any symptoms of a respiratory illness they should not front up to a doctor or emergency department," he told AAP.

He also urged anyone with a non-urgent medical condition to see a GP instead of "cluttering up" hospital emergency departments.

"If you have illnesses that can be treated by a GP, and that's diabetes chronic disease management or their sprains and cuts and infections."

The warning comes a day after a Sydney doctor contracted the illness.

He had seen a number of patients at North Ryde hospital with a diverse range of ailments, said NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant.

Soon there may be no reason for many, or even any, potential coronavirus victims to visit a medical practice, Dr Dhupelia said.

The AMA's national branch has lobbied the federal government to fund teleconferencing consultations which, in turn, would protect doctors and other patents potentially being exposed to the virus.

"The AMA is also fighting for, and negotiating, with the federal government to consider the usage of video and consultations so patients do not have to attend the doctor's surgery if they have symptoms of coronavirus or have been in contact with someone with coronavirus," he said.

A 26-year-old Logan man became the 11th person in Queensland to have contracted the coronavirus on Wednesday.

He is in isolation in the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane in a stable condition.

The patient is Queensland's second confirmed case in two days after a 20-year-old Chinese student was diagnosed on Monday.

Australian Associated Press