Coronavirus Australia live coverage: Death toll rises to five as COVID-19 cases surge, emergencies declared
Daily life could be disrupted for up to six months in Australia, as a top official warns coronavirus could lead to 15 million infections and up to 150,000 deaths.
It's the million dollar question: How long will all of this last?
According to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australians can expect to have their lives disrupted by the coronavirus for at least six months, as the nation hunkers down to combat the spread.
"This will be a difficult six months. It could be longer. It could be sooner than that," he told ABC radio on Monday.
The acknowledgement of a timeframe comes as states and territories declare public health emergencies, giving officials greater powers to detain people or restrict movements. The Coalition leader is also looking at ways to further boost the economy following the announcement of an initial $17.6billion stimulus package.
Health authorities have warned there will be an "exponential increase" in coronavirus cases in the next few weeks after a spike of new cases today.
Since 11am yesterday there have been another 37 cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in NSW, bringing the state-wide total to 171 cases since the outbreak started. Nationally the total stands at 368.
A second round of financial stimulus is being fast-tracked as the coronavirus crisis roils financial markets and batters the economy.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is reportedly locked in emergency meetings with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann hammering out the details.
It comes only days after the government unveiled a $17.6 billion package, including individual cash payments of $750 to around 6.5 million Australians.
Victoria has declared a state of emergency after 14 new virus cases were confirmed overnight, bringing the national tally to 350 as the death toll rises to five.
Mr Morrison is facing growing pressure to close schools and universities after announcing new measures to slow the spread of the disease on Sunday, including mandatory 14-day self isolation for all international travellers entering the country.
People who breach the new rules face fines of up to $13,000 and jail time.
Non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people have been banned but Mr Morrison said shutting schools would do more harm than good.
There are now 368 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Australia.
Of those, 171 are in NSW, 71 in Victoria, 68 in Queensland, 20 in SA, 28 in WA, seven in Tasmania, one in the NT and two in the ACT.
Six people have died – one in WA, three in NSW and two in Queensland.
Follow our live, rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic below.
Updates
'Prepare for this to last six months'
It's the million dollar question: How long will all of this last?
According to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australians can expect to have their lives disrupted by the coronavirus for at least six months, as the nation hunkers down to combat the spread.
"This will be a difficult six months. It could be longer. It could be sooner than that," he told ABC radio on Monday.
The acknowledgement of a timeframe comes as states and territories declare public health emergencies, giving officials greater powers to detain people or restrict movements. The Coalition leader is also looking at ways to further boost the economy following the announcement of an initial $17.6billion stimulus package.
That's a wrap!
That's where we leave today's live coronavirus coverage.
We'll be back first thing tomorrow morning with more ongoing updates.
Some of Victoria’s biggest universities are moving classes online in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state.
La Trobe, Monash and Swinburne universities announced on Monday night that from Tuesday, all classes will be suspended until the end of the week so staff can prepare for online learning.
Swinburne University will suspend lectures until next week, while those at La Trobe and Monash will be recorded and made available online. Melbourne University will move lectures and classes with more than 500 students online from Tuesday and progressively transition other lectures, classes and seminars with more than 25 students online by March 30.
“Tutorials with up to 25 students and specialist teaching and learning sessions will continue as planned or the time being,” it said in an update posted online. The university’s mid-semester break will also be extended and will take place from April 6 to 19, while graduation ceremonies and social events have been cancelled.
In a statement posted online, La Trobe said the COVID-19 pandemic is posing “unprecedented challenges” for the university.
“Events over the weekend and this morning have necessitated a rapid review of the university’s response,” it said.
“While there have been no new confirmed cases to date of COVID-19 on our campuses following the first confirmed case last week, it is critical that members of our community remain as safe as possible while ensuring minimal disruption to teaching and research activities.” If forced to close its campuses, La Trobe said all fixed-term and continuing staff would be paid, while casual staff would be paid for up to four weeks, based on the work they would have performed if not for the shutdown.
A – AAP
Woman charged with stealing from hospital
A woman from WA has been charged with allegedly stealing medical supplies from a Perth hospital amid the coronavirus panic.
The court heard that 65-year-old Selvarani Burwood stole face masks and hand wash from Osborne Park Hospital in Perth.
She has been ordered to comply with strict bail conditions, including surrendering her passport and not leaving the country.
Ms Burwood's lawyer asked that bail conditions be relaxed so she could go overseas to see a dying relative.
Massive jump in Iran's virus cases
Iran has recorded its largest single-day jump in coronavirus-related deaths since the outbreak began.
The country has reported another 129 fatalities, bringing the country's death toll to 850, Haaretz reports.
'Up to 150,000 coronavirus deaths'
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has warned that up to 150,000 Australians could die from the coronavirus.
Professor Kelly today said the number of infections would be "somewhere in the range" of 20 per cent to 60 per cent of the population.
"This is an infectious disease," he said from Canberra. "The more we can do to separate people and stop the disease spreading, the better. The death rate is around 1 per cent. You can do the maths."
Under a best-case scenario, which would be a 20 per cent infection rate, he said around 50,000 people out of 5 million infected with the disease could die.
A moderate scenario would mean around 100,000 dead.
Professor Kelly urged people to practise social distancing in order to prevent a rapid rise in the coming months.
He said the elderly, those with a disability and people living in remote communities are at increased risk.
"We need to do what we can to limit the opportunity for the infection to come into aged care," he said.
Louis Vuitton makes hand sanitiser for public
Luxury brand LVMH is converting its perfume and cosmetics factories to instead produce hand sanitizer during the coronavirus outbreak.
The French-based company said it hoped to begin making hydroalcoholic gel from today, after coronavirus fears left stores worldwide cleared of the item.
“Through this initiative, LVMH intends to help address the risk of a lack of product in France and enable a greater number of people to continue to take the right action to protect themselves from the spread of the virus,” the company said in a statement.
For those saying “if this is true..” here’s the English press release, announced a couple of hours ago by @LVMHpic.twitter.com/Xd1rE7i2wJ
A Sydney man who tested positive to coronavirus after returning home from Italy last week has urged Australians to stay calm as the outbreak continues to spread.
Cade Turland, 32, who caught one of the last flights out of Milan last Tuesday, took to Instagram to answer people's questions about having the virus.
He urged Australians to self-isolate, even if they're only feeling a little bit under-the-weather.
“It’s just two weeks. Go fix some stuff in the house, send some emails, start that book you’ve always wanted to write – whatever. Take some personal responsibility,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
Telcos offer extra data, unlimited calls to customers
Telstra, Vodafone and Optus are offering bonus data, unlimited calls and other perks to Australians in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Telstra is giving broadband customers unlimited data and pensioners unlimited home phone calls as part of its response to COVID-19.
The unlimited data, which is on offer until April 30, will reach consumers and small businesses with ADSL, NBN or cable connections from Thursday.
This also includes an extra 2GB of data for post-paid customers to use within 30 days, while pre-paid customers with an active recharge of $40+ can get 10GB of additional data to use in Australia within 28-30 days.
Eligible pensioners with a Telstra home phone plan will be able to make unlimited local, national and 13/1300 calls, and calls to Australian mobiles, from their home phone from Thursday until April 30.
Vodafone is similarly offering customers bonus data and unlimited national calls.
Last week Optus said it would provide customers with additional data for the month of April. Postpaid customers would receive a one-off 20GB of data, with prepaid customers paying $40 or more to get 10GB extra.
Sydney Writers' Festival cancelled
The Sydney Writers' Festival is the latest event to be cancelled amid growing coronavirus fears.
“This is an unprecedented, deeply upsetting and challenging time for everyone, but the health and safety of writers, audiences, staff, publishers, volunteers and our community must come first," Festival artistic director Michaela McGuire said.
The event had been due to run from April 27 to May 3.
