Australia’s Chief Medical Officer has apologised to health workers in Tasmania for speculating they attended an illegal dinner party and contributed to a coronavirus outbreak.

Professor Brendan Murphy made the claim about staff in the state’s northwest while giving evidence to a New Zealand parliamentary committee earlier in April.

He quickly backed away from the comments after Tasmania Premier Peter Gutwein pointed out contract tracing had found no evidence of a such a gathering. 

A subsequent state police investigation into the allegation found no evidence of a party.