Key Australian developments in the global coronavirus outbreak on Thursday include:
A ban on non-citizens and non-residents entering Australia began at 9pm tonight
Australia will no longer admit non-residents and non-citizens into the country from 9pm. At the same time the federal government is working with Qantas to ensure Australians stuck overseas have a means of getting home, even though Qantas is standing down 20,000 of its staff.
There are 876 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia
There were 166 more cases reported on Friday. There have been 382 in New South Wales, 184 in Queensland, 178 in Victoria, 50 in South Australia, 64 in Western Australia, 10 in Tasmania, 6 in the Australian Capital Territory, and two in the Northern Territory. Seven deaths have been recorded so far.
Chief health officer Brendan Murphy also indicated they could relax testing guidance and test more people, including all aged care workers, healthcare workers with illness, and people presenting with pneumonia.
Four square-metre rule
The restrictions on gatherings indoors were further tightened, so that in addition to having no more than 100 people, there now has to be four square metres around each person.
Federal budget delayed
Due to the ongoing uncertainty, the federal budget will now be held in October, not in May as originally planned. Additionally the government announced it would increase the debt ceiling to $850bn, banks are offering a six-month loan repayment deferral for small businesses and there is the possibility that similar relief could be provided for mortgage repayments.
Travel to remote Indigenous communities banned
To limit the spread of coronavirus in remote Indigenous communities, states and territories will nominate areas in consultation with Indigenous communities, and an emergency requirement determined under the Biosecurity Act 2015 will restrict persons from entering or leaving those nominated areas. Queensland is shutting its western border with the NT to help this.
Non-essential domestic travel not advised
The government is saying people shouldn’t travel domestically unless they absolutely need to. There’s no ban yet, but the national cabinet is considering further restrictions, including potentially forced isolation periods for those travelling to different regions, similar to recent restrictions brought in by Tasmania.
Over 2,700 cruise ship passengers told to self-isolate
NSW Health is calling for the 2,700 passengers who disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship yesterday in Sydney, to immediately self-isolate, after four people on the ship tested positive to Covid-19.
Government asks Netflix to consider easing data load
The federal government has written to Netflix and Stan, as well as other streaming companies, asking them to consider reducing the bit rate for their streaming video as NBN Co expects a big increase in people using the service while working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
A 36-year-old Australian man diagnosed with Covid-19 in Iceland
A 36-year-old Australian man with Covid-19 has died in Iceland. His wife has been quarantined with the illness. But the man’s symptoms were atypical for Covid-19, and although he had the illness doctors are continuing to investigate the cause of his death, Iceland’s national broadcaster RUV reported.
Air New Zealand bailed out by the NZ government
The New Zealand government has given the national carrier a NZ$900m loan facility after an 85% reduction in revenue for international flights and 70% for domestic.
