As the US starts to demand its citizens wear masks, the Australian government is saying the opposite, with warnings they're even dangerous.
The country's deputy chief health officer Professor Paul Kelly has stressed people shouldn't be wearing masks out in public.
It comes as New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard has defended his department's decision to let the Ruby Princess cruise ship dock and unload its passengers in Sydney last month.
Hundreds of those passengers have since tested positive for the coronavirus, and seven of them have died. A large number of the confirmed cases in Australia - about 10 per cent of them - have been linked to the ship.
That, understandably, has led to criticism of NSW Health.
But speaking at a press conference in Sydney this morning, Mr Hazzard was defiant. He slammed the criticism of his department's officials, and rejected calls for his own resignation, saying he had no knowledge of the Ruby Princess decision until after it had been made.
MORE: Follow the latest coronavirus news here
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia now stands at 5540.
As of Saturday afternoon there were 2493 in NSW, 1115 in Victoria, 900 in Queensland, 407 in South Australia, 436 in Western Australia, 80 in Tasmania, 93 in the Australian Capital Territory and 26 in the Northern Territory.
The national death tally rose to 30 today, with a second victim confirmed in the ACT.
Follow the latest in our rolling coverage below.
The father-in-law of Federal Labor MP Ged Kearney has died from coronavirus.
The MP shared a Facebook post confirming 'Mike' had become the 30th victim.
The Canberra resident was 82 years old and had done his best to self-isolate.
"In fact I believe he only went outside a couple of times in the whole month to shop," Ms Kearney wrote.
Read here full post:
In something a bit more lighthearted, local Facebook group, Viral Kindness – Bondi has arranged free coffees for the St Vincent’s Hospital team running the suburb's pop-up clinic.
Bondi resident and group admin, Clare Gemmell, has opened accounts at two nearby cafes which is serving kindness in two ways.
Locals are donating in order to keep the medics fed and watered, while the longstanding businesses are being supported to keep trading.
While Viral Kindness Bondi has driven the initiative, donations have also poured in from people within the Bondi Community Noticeboard Group and Bondi Real Local Loop groups.
Clare is blown away by the community spirit and support.
Keep up the great work guys!
NSW Police are leading the largest maritime operation undertaken in Sydney Harbour to help five cruise ships still stuck here.
Authorities have been working closely with the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to safely coordinate the return of the ships to their home ports.
Following several days of planning, Spectrum of the Seas entered the port of Sydney about 4.30pm yesterday, guided by a marine pilot.
It anchored at Athol Bay to re-provision essential supplies, including fuel, food and medical materials.
It was joined by Radiance of the Seas which entered Sydney Harbour after 5am today.
More than 600 crew members, who are foreign nationals, were moved between the two ships in numerous tender operations, before both ships departed NSW waters to return to their home countries just before 2pm.
A third ship – Celebrity Solstice – entered Sydney Harbour just after 2pm, and a further two ships – Voyager of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas – were scheduled to enter the harbour this afternoon.
A further 780 crew members will be transferred in multiple tender operations this evening, before the remaining three ships depart.
A total of five Australian crew members remain on the ships.
Marine Area Commander, Superintendent Steve Hegarty, said the operation had been carefully planned.
“It will be the largest peacetime maritime operation undertaken in Sydney Harbour and has relied on the cooperation of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and the Port Authority of NSW to ensure its success.”
“It will be the largest peacetime maritime operation undertaken in Sydney Harbour”
NSW Health has detailed new cases in schools. They are:
There has also been a second positive case at TAFE Ultimo that is unrelated to the first case.
There are 110 people in quarantine in Sydney hotels who are being tested for coronavirus after they showed symptoms.
NSW Health is alerting passengers who were close contacts on flights to monitor for symptoms, and contact their GP, but call ahead first, or call healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
Results were due back today so we should get an update tomorrow.
One of the Gold Coast's most popular spots will have its carparks closed after crowds flocked to the beach despite social distancing measures in place.
Gold Coasters continued with their weekend recreation at The Spit.
The Gold Coast Bulletin showed packed carparks at The Spit as surfers, dog owners and bored locals went about their day as usual.
The city's furious Mayor, Tom Tate, will now close them.
“People are just not listening so we have taken this measure to discourage visitors,” he told the newspaper.
“The message is clear: We can no longer be gathering in groups larger than two and we should only be out for essential activities and exercise.
“A lazy day at the Spit should not be on the cards right now."
There are 25 coronavirus cases linked to one childcare centre in Sydney.
The cases are among seven staff, six children, 11 family members and one friend at The Rose of Sharon centre in Blacktown in western Sydney.
The centre has been closed.
NSW Health announced on March 30 that a staff member and two children had tested positive and close contacts were isolated
The centre's distressed owner said she had no idea how many people had tested positive when she was contacted by The Sunday Telegraph, thinking only one child had been infected.
"My god, that is so sad, I had no idea," she told the newspaper.
She said she wasn’t sure who brought the virus in but it may have been a staff member who also worked as a cleaner at Tyndale Christian School.
Earlier today Professor Paul Kelly, the country's deputy chief medical officer, also spoke about what we're looking at with coronavirus during winter.
"We know that during the winter months this tends to transmit more easily," he said.
"We do know that low humidity and low temperatures do tend to promote the infectiousness of respiratory viruses, and we suspect that this particular virus will be similar."
He said social distancing measures would help the fact that more people tended to gather inside during winter.
“The good news about that is that the daily increases are definitely less than they were a week or so ago…at the moment we are tracking quite well, that flattening of the curve we have talked about for some time now appears to be happening.
“But I really would caution thinking that we’ve got through this completely, because we definitely have not, and we really have to be hypervigilant."
South Australia Premier Steven Marshall says the state has recorded 11 new cases of coronavirus, taking its total to 407.
One of them is a teenager and another in a passenger from the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
In total there have been 85 people infected from that ship in SA and 119 overall from cruise ships.
Mr Marshall said 19 people remained in hospital and eight were in intensive care.
“My biggest concern going forward is complacency. I don’t want anyone to think we can relax the restrictions in place,” he said this afternoon.
“Travel around the state this Easter is completely and utterly off.
“It’s really important that we follow this restriction. If we do so we will unequivocally save lives.”
He also announced a deal with the private hospital system that will see 1700 beds added to the state's capacity.
Western Australia's Health Minister Roger Cook says the state has recorded 14 new cases of COVID-19, taking the total to 426.
They are aged between 26 and 84 years old.
He said 12 are from the metropolitan area, one is from the Kimberley region, and one is from the Pilbara region.
Four are related to cruise ships and one is still under investigation.
Three of the new cases are in hospital.
"As with all cases, contact tracing is under way to ensure all close contacts are notified and are self-isolating," Mr Cook said.
There are currently 58 COVID-19 patients in Perth metropolitan hospitals, with 18 in ICU.
Heartbroken tributes have poured in for a TikTok star who died at just 25 after a mystery illness.
A super-fit Air Force Academy cadet found lifeless in her dorm room last month died of a tragic cause that ‘could have been prevented’.
A mum in Victoria has urged parents to trust their instincts after her eight-year-old son almost died during a sudden medical emergency.