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Summary
- Australia’s death toll stands at 18, after the death of two women in their 80s in Tasmania and the ACT. 4163 Australians have tested positive for COVID-19. The NSW rate has 'stabilised', with 127 new cases announced today
- Public gatherings will be limited to two people, reduced from the previous cap of 10 people, under stricter social-distancing measures. These will be enforced with fines in NSW and Victoria from Tuesday
- The US has recorded its 2000th coronavirus death, with the country's top infection expert, predicting between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans will die as the US becomes the epicentre of the pandemic. Italy has recorded its second successive fall in the daily death rate, reporting 756 deaths on Sunday
- Banks will allow commercial landlords with loans of up to $10 million to delay their loan repayments by up to six months, on the condition tenants are not evicted due to the coronavirus crisis
- All foreign investment in Australia will now be subject to review, under new measures announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this morning
Coronavirus modelling to be 'unlocked'
The Morrison government will release the scientific modelling behind its coronavirus response, to give transparency to the public on the reasons for the timing and severity of restrictions.
Medical leaders and journalists have for weeks been pushing for access to the modelling, prepared by a panel of pandemic experts including Professor Jodie McVernon, director of epidemiology at the Doherty Institute in Melbourne.
Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said on Monday afternoon that he had asked his staff to "organise a meeting later this week where the modelling and the epidemiology and the public health response will be unlocked, and people will be able to ask questions about that".
He said the modelling being relied upon by the National Health Protection Principal Committee, which advises state and federal governments through the national cabinet, was "changing very rapidly" - but acknowledged the public interest in the reasons for decisions.
"I think transparency is very important," Professor Kelly told reporters in Canberra.
"I think we have been quite open with components of the modelling, but I respect that there is a large number of ways that modelling can be done, and so we need to be more transparent," Professor Kelly said.
'It will be months before we get past this'
By Dana McCauley
Professor Kelly said the impact of the latest restrictions on social gatherings - limited to two people or a household plus one - could take one or two weeks, but was not able to say how long the rules would be in place.
"How long that will last, I don't know exactly," he said.
"We have been saying months and I believe it will be months before we get past this epidemic."
He said restrictions on movement and gatherings were "very disruptive to Australian society" and that the least possible disruption should be pursued as the government continued to respond to the coronavirus.
Professor Kelly said he was conscious of the mental health affects of being "stuck in your house... of not being [able to] connect closely with other people, at least physically."
He said Australian society must adapt to the social distancing requirements without becoming "disconnected".
"We have to be connected with each other. It's an absolutely vital human need," he said.
"So please remain connected with your families, with your friends, work out how to do Skype parties, a virtual book club ... That is something we can do together even though we can't have a dinner party."
'We need to redouble our efforts': Deputy chief medical officer
By Dana McCauley
Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly says the government's social distancing measures are working, with a "stabilisation of the numbers" of new infections - but that "this is not a time to take the foot off the brake".
"We really need to redouble our efforts to work as a society to make sure we are doing everything we can to slow the spread of the virus," Professor Kelly said.
Deputy chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
"This is about saving lives and making sure that particularly our vulnerable members of our community, elderly people and those with other conditions including lung disease, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases, are protected."
Australia hit 18 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, when the number of confirmed cases rose to 4163, with 55 patients in intensive care.
Dr Kelly said Australians weighing up whether to bring elderly relatives home to care for them faced "a very difficult question", saying that for "the most frail, elderly people requiring, for example, a lot of home care ... it may be best to shelter with relatives".
But if other family members were going "out into the word ... and interacting with others", he said, they risked bringing the virus into the home and infecting their loved one.
"It is a trade-off and people have to examine their circumstances and the circumstance of their elderly relative to make that decision," Professor Kelly said.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer gives COVID-19 update
Update from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer in 10 minutes
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer will address the media in 15 minutes to provide an update on the coronavirus outbreak in Australia.
It has been a big day so far, with Victoria and NSW both announcing penalties for breaches of their new social distancing restrictions. Later today, we are expecting to hear the details of the federal government's wage subsidy program.
The national death toll has also risen to 18 following the deaths of two women in their 80s from the virus, both the first for their respective states and territories (Tasmania and the ACT).
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With that, I'm handing over to Megan Gorrey in Sydney to continue the blog.
First person dies of coronavirus in ACT
A woman in her 80s has died of COVID-19 in the ACT, the territory's first death.
The woman, who acquired the disease overseas, died over the weekend at the Canberra Hospital.
"My thoughts are with the family and friends of this person through such a difficult time," ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said.
"This is the very reality of this disease, which is seeing the elderly at increased risk of complications from COVID-19."
Her passing brings Australia's death toll to 18, after the death of a Tasmanian woman was also announced today.
Blacktown school and childcare closed after cases
A Blacktown school will be closed for cleaning until Wednesday after being associated with three cases of COVID-19.
Two students and a staff member from Tyndale Christian School have been diagnosed, and contact tracing is currently being performed, NSW Health said in a statement.
Also in Blacktown, a childcare worker at Rose of Sharon childcare centre and two confirmed cases in children who attend this centre have been diagnosed. All children who attend the childcare centre have been isolated as close contacts.
There are 1918 cases of COVID-19 in NSW. Of these, 36 per cent are people in their 20s and 30s.
There are 157 COVID-19 cases being treated in hospitals, with 26 in ICU and 13 on ventilators at this stage.
More than half of those not in ICU are being treated through "Hospital at Home" services.
Over 280 cruise ship cases in NSW
There are now 285 COVID-19 cases from cruise ships in NSW, roughly one in seven of the 1918 cases in the state.
This figure includes 189 NSW cases from the Ruby Princess, which docked on March 19, 66 cases from the Ovation of the Seas, which docked on March 18, and 26 cases from the Voyager of the Seas which docked on the same day.
Passengers disembark the Ruby Princess on March 19. The ship has now been the source of 189 COVID-19 cases in NSW, and well over 100 interstate.Credit:Kate Geraghty
There are two new cases from the Celebrity Solstice, bringing the total to four in NSW.
As previously reported, three crew members were taken from the Ruby Princess with symptoms last night. Their results have not been returned.
Crew on the Voyager of the Seas ship have also been displaying symptoms, with 70 receiving testing. Of these, four tested positive and are included in the above total.
'We treat them like gold': Aboriginal community rallies around elders
By Ella Archibard-Binge and Kate Geraghty
When dietitian Sophia Malie began working at the Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation near Campbelltown in south-west Sydney, the first thing she learnt was "elders first".
It's a mentality shared by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, who are rallying across the country to shield their older people from the spread of COVID-19.
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation case worker Kim Bell delivers groceries to 73-year-old Ivan Wellington.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Kiwis crash website to dob in neighbours
New Zealanders are embracing their inner cop, crashing a Dob-in-a-Kiwi website within a day of police opening it.
Police established the www.105.police.govt.nz website during the country's coronavirus lockdown to allow members of the public to give tip-offs of non- compliant activities.
Commissioner Mike Bush said police received 4200 reports in the first 24 hours.
"It crashed our system. So we put it back up again. And it's working," he said.
The website was created after thousands of Kiwis flooded the country's emergency number, 111, to provide the same information.
Around 1000 of the submissions relate to businesses operating in defiance of the lockdown, with the rest relating to individuals.
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