As the day unfolded: Trump issues travel ban as Scott Morrison reveals $17.6b stimulus package

Thank you for following along today. Here's what you need to know:

• There are now 140 confirmed cases in Australia, including Hollywood couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.
• The World Health Organisation declared the global coronavirus crisis a pandemic but has said it is not too late for countries to act.
• Businesses, welfare recipients and tourism operators will get part of a $17.6 billion stimulus package as the Morrison government tries to avoid a recession
• Australia's top health advisors do not recommend putting a travel ban on Europe at this stage.
• The ACT has its first case of COVID-19.

NSW’s Chief Health Officer says authorities are anticipating as many as 1.5 million people in the state to be infected with COVID-19, as hospitals prepare for an outbreak to converge with flu season.

Dr Kerry Chant said the "best evidence" from modelling of the impact of the disease means health authorities were "anticipating 20 per cent of the first wave [of NSW] to be infected".

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said events like the Sydney Royal Easter Show would not be cancelled at this stage, but that decision could change.

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The World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday morning's decision to announce a global pandemic was not a decision they took lightly.

"Almost 125,000 cases have now been reported to WHO, from 118 countries and territories. In the past two weeks, the number of cases reported outside China has increased almost 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has almost tripled," he said on Thursday night.

"We are deeply concerned that some countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it."

He urged counties to ensure they continue to prevent, test and treat cases to "break the chains of transmission".

An adviser to the World Health Organisation has called on the NSW Education Department to provide public schools with hand sanitiser stations to protect against coronavirus.

Health and education experts have also called on public schools to cancel assemblies, stop excursions, and stagger lunch times to reduce contact between students, saying there had been a worrying lack of direction to schools over steps to slow the spread of the disease.

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The Insurance Council of Australia has declared an "insurance catastrophe" as the industry braces for a spike in coronavirus-related claims while policies largely exclude quarantinable diseases, writes Charlotte Grieve. 

Business interruption insurance policies typically cover staff wages and rent or loan repayments during catastrophic events.

In the past, this extended to infectious diseases but in 2004, the global insurance industry began to introduce exclusions for losses relating to quarantinable diseases, according to the ICA.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said there was one upside to film star Tom Hanks and wife, actress-singer Rita Wilson, testing positive for coronavirus in the south-east Queensland city.

Cr Tate said that in itself was a boost to the Gold Coast’s film industry.

"While I am sorry he has tested positive here, I think if the Gold Coast film industry is good enough to attract him here, it should be good enough for others."

Hanks was in Australia as part of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic, being shot at Warner Brothers Studios on the Gold Coast. Filming has since been halted.

"All work activity on the production is cancelled and will not resume until further notice," Luhrmann told the cast and crew on Thursday morning.

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One of Australia's biggest stadium and arena operators is disinfecting frequently touched surfaces four times an hour at its venues in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus during events.

Event organisers are feeling the pinch from health bodies such as the Australian Medical Association postpone, modify or cancel events with big crowds to halt coronavirus transmission and stadium revenues could cop a beating.

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Domino’s will offer a zero contract delivery service to protect the health of employees and customers.Credit: Domino's Australia

Domino's will offer customers zero contract delivery to protect their health and safety and that of employees.

"When selected, the driver will place the order on a safe surface at the customer’s delivery location, step back a safe distance, let them know when their order has arrived and wait to confirm they have received their meal," the company said on social media.

"We understand the trust our customers place in us to deliver safe, freshly prepared meals and take this responsibility seriously."

Vice-chancellors of Australia's top universities and the federal education minister may have been exposed to coronavirus after attending a conference with someone who tested positive.

Three days after attendees gathered in Canberra, a delegate was diagnosed with COVID-19. Organisers do not know whether that person was infected when they arrived, or caught it at the conference.

Education Minister Dan Tehan at the Universities Australia conference.Credit: Damien McDonald

The Universities Australia (UA) conference held in late February, attracted vice-chancellors from institutions including the Australian National University, the University of Technology Sydney and Western Sydney University.

It was also attended by former High Court judge Michael Kirby, federal Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek, and federal Education Minister Dan Tehan, who praised universities for their response.

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Sydney’s public transport workers have raised fears over their vulnerability to the coronavirus as the state government works to disinfect the network and prepare for staff shortages.

Transport Workers Union NSW secretary Richard Olsen said drivers were kept in confined spaces with limited ventilation and deserved to know how the government planned to protect them.

Transport for NSW is working to source six months worth of hand sanitiser amid the coronavirus outbreak.Credit: Ryan Stuart

“Our bus driver members are telling us that they are receiving very little information about COVID-19 safety and feel they are in a vulnerable position as they continue to provide a valuable service for their communities,” Mr Olsen said.

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