On Monday Australians were still commuting and socialising at restaurants and bars while the country gradually shut down around them, bans on mass outdoor gatherings took effect and the prime minister ordered “no more handshakes”.
By Friday it was clear life for the next few months would be drastically changed. Tasmania effectively closed its borders. Australians overseas rushed home and many were left stranded as travel restrictions tightened.
Indoor gatherings of more than 100 people were banned. For people meeting in workplaces or other venues in numbers less than 100, a space of 4 sq metres would need to be kept around each person, Scott Morrison announced.
All of this could last six months.
“I know it means a lot of change for a lot of venues, whether they be cafes or restaurants or clubs or any of these other places of public gathering,” Morrison said.
The government said it would work with venues so they understood how many patrons they could accept and find a way through, but it was hard not to see it as a death knell for many small cafes and bars already struggling to remain open amid decreases in foot traffic and orders.
Banks announced they would defer repayments for small businesses for six months. A second round of economic stimulus, described by the government as a multibillion-dollar “safety net” package, included income-support measures and urgent financial help for businesses.
Western Australia announced a $607m stimulus package, including freezes on household fees, and other states and territories apart from Victoria followed throughout the week. The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, flagged “survival payments” to come.
Supermarkets ran special shopping hours for pensioners and disability-card holders who had been left empty-handed during panic buying, and politicians, health workers, pharmacists and retail workers urged for calm as shop workers faced abuse.
The number of Australian cases rose from more than 300 at the beginning of the week to more than 700 by the end of it. The death toll in Australia climbed to seven, while an eighth Australian, a 36-year-old man with the virus, died in Iceland.
New restrictions were placed on visiting aged care homes. The state and federal governments were called on to justify their decision to keep schools open.
Throughout the week, train carriages, buses and trams became emptier, restaurants quieter. Even workplaces once averse to flexible work arrangements sent staff to work from home. Gyms and sports clubs began closing. Cricket was cancelled at all levels. The national carrier, Qantas, said two-thirds of its 30,000-strong workforce would be stood down without pay, and announced a halt to international flights.
If anyone had been complacent in the face of the pandemic, by the weekend it was impossible for them to continue in that way. Lives were rearranged, overseas trips cancelled, non-essential domestic travel reconsidered, visits to loved ones in nursing homes restricted and social calendars diminished.
While China reported no new domestic transmissions for the first time, Australia braced itself, already bruised by job losses and an avalanche of grim news. Morrison attempted motivation.
“We all need to keep going,” he said. “I need all of you to keep going. And we are going to keep going to keep Australia running. All Australians have a role to play, as we make our way through, and there is a way through.
“There is a bridge over this. And if we continue to work together in the way we are, all around the country, then Australia will bounce back strongly.”
