That's it for the Sydney Morning Herald's live blog tonight.
Thanks for following our rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, we'll be back here with the latest updates tomorrow morning.
Thanks for following our live coverage
By Tom Rabe
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This was published 6 years ago
As the day unfolded: PM announces mandatory two-week self-isolation for international arrivals
Summary
- All visitors to Australia will have to self-isolate for 14 days from midnight Sunday, while cruise ships from international ports will also be banned
- France and Spain are following Italy into lockdown as cases and deaths surge in Europe, while US extends its Europe travel ban to the UK and Ireland
- Two elderly women have died from coronavirus, bringing the national death toll to 5.
- Sydney's Vivid Festival has been cancelled, as has the city's Opera after the government banned gatherings of more than 500 people
- On Sunday, NSW recorded 22 new cases of coronavirus, taking the state total to 134. In Victoria, 13 new cases brought the state total to 57. The latest national count is 279.
Here's what happened today
By Tom Rabe
Two more people have been confirmed dead from COVID-19 in Australia, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced anyone arriving in the country will have to self-isolate for two weeks.
A 77-year-old woman died on Friday after she flew to Sydney from Queensland, according to NSW Health, which also confirmed the death of a 90-year-old woman at an aged care facility on Saturday. The two fatalities took the national death toll to five.
Mr Morrison announced on Sunday that anyone arriving in Australia from midnight would be required to self-isolate for 14 days. International cruise ships will also be barred from docking in Australia for the next 30 days.
Students tested positive to coronavirus at both UNSW and University of Sydney, while the state's schools implement "distancing measures" for its students, banning assemblies and camps.
Richard Wilkins diagnosed with COVID-19
By Nathanael Cooper
Veteran entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins has tested positive to COVID-19.
Wilkins met with Hollywood star Rita Wilson after her Sydney Opera House performance last week and has since returned a positive result for coronavirus.
Wilson performed a concert of songs from her recently released fourth album, Halfway to Home to an audience of about 200 people in the intimate Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday night with her husband Tom Hanks in the audience.
Wilson also appeared on Today Extra, interviewed by David Campbell and Belinda Russell, and used one of the dressing rooms at Nine's Willoughby studios resulting in both Campbell and Russell being put into isolation.
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ASX employees asked to work from home
By Tom Rabe
The Australian Securities Exchange has asked its employees to work from home after one of its Sydney workers tested positive for COVID-19.
About 20 colleagues who had close contact with the person in the Sydney office have been placed in self-isolation, the ASX said in a statement on Sunday night.
Employees across the country to work from home until further notice.
A core group of employees will remain on site at the ASX offices to manage "ongoing market functions".
"We will continue to be informed by the advice of health authorities and the Government, and take a cautious approach to ensure the wellbeing of our people and ongoing confidence of our stakeholders," the statement said.
Soccer union chief blasts Australian authorities
By Michael Lynch
The head of the soccer players union has blasted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade after Melbourne Victory players and coaching staff were left high and dry in New Zealand on Sunday night, plunging the remainder of their A-League season into chaos.
John Didulica, the chief executive of the PFA, said his organisation had been told that travel restrictions on re-entering Australia would not be a problem for Victory players if they went ahead with their game in Wellington against the Phoenix on Sunday.
''We had assurances from DFAT that this would not happen. That was the total precondition for us committing to play the game,'' said Didulica.
'It's a disgrace...The impact of isolation is disastrous for the players."
Read the full story from Michael Lynch here.
Countries around the world announce more virus restrictions
By AAP
Authorities around the world turned to increasingly drastic measures to try to slow the spread of the new coronavirus Sunday, with lockdowns, curfews and travel restrictions spreading.
Soldiers and police sealed the densely populated Philippine capital from most domestic travellers in one of Southeast Asia's most drastic containment moves. The move mirrored a lockdown Spain announced just hours earlier for its 46 million citizens.
France ordered the closing of just about everything the rest of the world loves about it - the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the cafes and restaurants - as governments took increasingly desperate measures to put more space between people and contain the virus.
At US airports, travellers returning from Europe have been greeted with hourslong waits for required medical screenings. While American citizens, green card holders and some others are allowed to return to the U.S. amid new European travel restrictions, they're being funnelled to 13 US airports where they're subject to health screenings and quarantine orders.
In China, where the virus was first detected in December, those arriving on overseas flights were routed to a converted exhibition centre for initial checks before being shuttled off to their homes or other quarantine locations.
In a nationally televised address Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez detailed the battery of exceptional measures put in place as part of a two-week state of emergency to fight the sharp rise in infections.
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Why Britain is actually letting the coronavirus spread
By Bevan Shields
Wondering why the UK wants to go it alone with its own strategy to combat COVID-19?
Europe correspondent Bevan Shields has written this piece on 'herd immunity,' and how the UK plans to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
In crude terms, Boris Johnson's government is mounting the argument that the outbreak is now so far gone that it is actually desirable for people to get infected.
Britain's approach has three core elements: enact social distancing measures much more slowly than other countries; shield at-risk groups like the elderly and sick from contact with the general population; and then let COVID-19 slowly sweep through everybody else.
Qld local govt elections to go ahead
By Lucy Stone
Queensland’s local government elections will go ahead on March 28, the Electoral Commission Queensland has confirmed.
Postal vote applications are up more than 20,000 compared to the 2016 elections, with the ECQ receiving more than 96,000 applications ahead of the Monday 7pm deadline.
Queensland electoral commissioner Pat Vidgen said it was a “unique and evolving situation” and voters were urged to apply for a postal vote or, if voting on Saturday March 28, bring their own pencils.
Voting booths will be regularly cleaned and extra staff on hand to assist as the state’s 77 councils are re-elected.
Some Queensland mayors and councillors had expressed concern about the election and mass gatherings. The ECQ cannot change the date of the elections without parliamentary approval.
Opera Australia cancels remainder of Sydney season
By Nathanael Cooper
Opera Australia has cancelled the remaining dates of the company’s Sydney season following the government’s ban on static gatherings of more than 500 people.
The cancellation impacts all performances of Attila, Carmen and Great Opera Hits at the Sydney Opera House that were scheduled from Monday 16 through to Saturday 28 March.
A decision on the Opera On Sydney Harbour production of La Traviata will be made in coming days.
Opera Australia char Rory Jeffes urged patrons to reconsider asking for a refund.
“I ask any ticket holders to OA or any presenting company - please re-consider your refund requests and instead where possible, to either exchange your ticket to a performance later in the year, convert it to a gift voucher or a donation to the company,” he said in a statement.
Other major companies are expected to make decisions on the future of their season in the coming days.
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Tourists leaving Australia amid coronavirus escalation
By Tate Papworth
Hours after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced strict travel restrictions for the country, people began the mad dash home amid fears travel would only become more difficult.
Danish doctor Astrid and his wife quickly packed up their family after they were called home by local authorities.
“We’ve been called home to Denmark by the Foreign Minister. We’re doctors, so we have to go home and do our part," he said.
“We need to be on standby if there’s a need for our services.”
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