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Coronavirus Australia live updates: PM Scott Morrison talks tough on pandemic as shut downs begin

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison has introduced tough new rules for places where Aussies gather in a bid to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus. 

NSW and Victoria go into 'comprehensive shutdown'

The PM has announced a raft of businesses will be closed from midday tomorrow, including pubs and clubs, gyms, casinos and cinemas.

 

Mr Morrison said restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway or home delivery only, while indoor sporting venues, gyms and churches and places of worship will also close.

He confirmed schools would remain open until the end of term and would reopen after the break, pending medical advice.

There are now more than 1350 confirmed cases across the country, with 533 in NSW, 296 in Victoria, 259 in Queensland, 120 in Western Australia, 100 in South Australia, 22 in Tasmania, 19 in the ACT and five in the Northern Territory.

Seven people have died, six of them in NSW.

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Originally published as Coronavirus Australia live updates: PM Scott Morrison talks tough on pandemic as shut downs begin

Updates

More 'dramatic measures' could be coming

The PM has warned that even harsher restrictions could be on the cards if Australians failed to observe proper social distancing measures in public places such as beaches and shopping centres.

He pleaded with the community to do the right thing.

"As we’ve just made very clear, that when that doesn’t occur, then more dramatic measures have to be introduced," he said.

"I would simply ask Australians to be calm and exercise some sensible judgement."

'No data' showing children are major spreaders

Chief Medical Officer for the federal government, Professor Brendan Murphy, said children did not appear to be major spreaders of COVID-19.

"There is no data internationally anywhere in the world that shows that major spreading of this virus has occurred with children," he said.

"We are not ruling it out. It is possible. But we think the risks and benefits are on the other side.

"We have been asked again by the national cabinet to consider next week which members of the workforce, both schools, healthcare, aged care, who are vulnerable because of their age and comorbidities should not be required to go to work.

"That is a very important issue and we need to protect the workforce in every scenario."

Hairdressers, nail salons to stay open

Mr Morrison has confirmed hairdressers and beauticians will be able to remain open despite the closure of entertainment venues.

"The only ones that can’t remain open and provide those services are the ones I’ve listed to you. Only those ones," he stressed.

Shopping centres will also operate as normal, along with most of the retailers they house.

Young people 'not immune'

Chief Medical Officer for the federal government, Professor Brendan Murphy, said if Australia was to survive the pandemic, we "have to live differently".

"We've been making that point very clear over the last week. But it's also clear that some people haven't got it," he said.

"I'm particularly talking to young people who may think they're immune to the effects of this virus.

"It's true, most young peep don't get significant disease. But as a young person you don't want to be responsible for the severe and possibly fatal disease of an elder, vulnerable Australian.

"We have to stop the rapid spread of this virus. There has been very significant increase in cases over the last few days."

'This will not be a holiday', kids warned

The Prime Minister has warned school children that the upcoming Easter break "will not be a holiday" as it normally would.

"This term break will be like none other. This will not be a holiday as it is normally known for the break in term," Mr Morrison said.

"There will not be trips interstate, there will not be those holiday normal type arrangements. There will not be congregating up at the trampoline venue or whatever it happens to be. That will not be happening. It won't be a holiday as anyone has ever known it.

"And it is important I think that families and households understand that because over the course of the term break, we need to ensure that we continue to follow the very strict rules around social distancing.

"This is a critical time. An absolutely critical time. The decisions that parents make, that we all make, over the course of the next few weeks in particular could very seriously determine the trajectory that Australia continues to go on in relation to the coronavirus. So I would seek and implore Australians to follow this advice. You will be saving lives and you'll be saving livelihoods."

Children 'should go to school tomorrow'

Scott Morrison says there is "no change to the medical expert advice" regarding schools closures, and that schools will stay open until the end of term.

He said premiers and chief ministers agreed that schools should reopen on the other side of the term break, subject to the health advice at that time.

"Health advice has been clear and they have remained open and this is important because I want to stress this, I do not want to see our children lose an entire year of their education," the PM said.

"What we will be doing though is allowing parents to the end of this year's school term, to be able to keep their children at home where they choose to.

"But for all of those parents who wish to send their children to school, for an education at the school, those schools will remain open. In addition, schools will seek to provide learning at home in a distance learning framework but you cannot be assured that that will come in place immediately."

PM: Pubs closed from midday tomorrow

The PM has introduced tough new rules for places where Aussies gather in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

From midday tomorrow, licensed areas of hotels and pubs will be closed.

That does not include bottle shops, which "work like any other retail premises".

Entertainment venues and cinemas, entertainment venues, casinos and nightclubs will also close, while restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway or home delivery only.

Indoor sporting venues and gyms and churches and places of worship will also close, and enclosed spaces for funerals and "things of that nature" will have to follow the strict four square metre rule "which will be enforced".

Home takeaway deliveries will continue as normal.

Tasmania confirms 22nd coronavirus case

There are now 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tasmania.

On Sunday night, Public Health Director Mark Veitch said two of the newest cases involved people who had recently returned home from the US.

Two were passengers on the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise which docked in Sydney on Thursday, and another was from the

were people who had recently returned from the United States, two were from the Ruby Princess cruise that arrived in Sydney on March 19 and another was from the Ovation of the Seas cruise that arrived in Sydney on March 18.

PM: 'This is a war'

The PM has also sat for a pre-recorded interview with 60 Minutes, which has just aired.

That interview was far less fiery than the ABC's, but Mr Morrison didn't shy away from the seriousness of the situation, which he described as one of the toughest since WWII.

In fact, he said the country is once again at war – but this time with an enemy that’s proving hard to defeat.
“We are in a war against this virus and all Australians are enlisted to do the right thing,” Mr Morrison said.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to soar across the country, despite increasingly strict social distancing measures designed to slow the spread.

When asked how many cases Australia could ultimately see, Mr Morrison said: “Nobody knows.”

“What we can provide certainty of is that if somebody finds himself in a position where they have lost their job, I have doubled the jobseeker payment,” he added.

“If a business needs to get from now to the end of this crisis, which we think is at least six months, we provide up to $100,000 in grants to help them get there.

“That's why we are ensuring people can break open and access their own superannuation safes.

“These are designed to help. What I cannot do is forecast an unforecastable situation.”

One thing the PM is sure of is the economic impact the pandemic will have.

“The economy will be significantly battered by this in a way that we have not seen, in my lifetime,” Mr Morrison said.

He appealed for Australians to continue adhering to strict social distancing measures imposed by his government, warning that failure to do so will see more restrictions rolled out.

“People are told to self-isolate for 14 days when they come back (from overseas). People are told to keep 1.5m distance. Venues are told to have an average of four metres for each person.

“This needs to be observed, otherwise very draconian measures need to be enforced that might otherwise have been unnecessary.”

The PM will hold a live press conference at 9pm.

PM: Pain to last for 'at least' six months

Scott Morrison has urged Aussies to stop panic buying, but has warned it will be months before life returns to normal.

The PM said there were plans to eliminate food and medicine shortages, and said Australia was better equipped to deal with those challenges than other countries.

But he said the shutdowns and social distancing were here to stay for now.

"As I’ve said, there is no need…to rush out and do the things that we were seeing some weeks ago," he said.

"But equally, I need to address this – the suggestion that you can just lock the country down, or a state, for two weeks or four weeks, and the virus passes, is naive, and it’s false. That at the end of that two or four weeks and you ease restrictions, the virus just starts again.

"If you put arrangements in place that shut down large parts of the country and the economy, then you better be prepared to hold on to those arrangements for at least the next six months."

Read related topics:Scott Morrison

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-australia-live-updates/live-coverage/63a8a567e77ea494fe9b33c1fc2a897f