Australian PM announces drastic new coronavirus measures

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that pubs, clubs, licensed premises in hotels, cinemas, indoor sporting venues, casinos & places of worship will be closed from midday tomorrow (Monday 23rd March 2020).

Restaurants & cafes will only be able to offer takeaway.

Enclosed spaces for funerals and things of that nature will have to follow the strict four square metre rule which will be enforced.

The Australian PM said ‘this is stage 1 of this response’ and it will be reviewed on a ‘monthly basis’.

These new measures could be in place for up to 6 months.

He confirmed schools will remain open tomorrow, however, state by state, that may change, with Victoria bringing school holidays forward to Tuesday.

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy noted that the lives of residents must change dramatically if Australia is going to get through the pandemic. "If Australia is going to get through the challenge of this pandemic over the coming months, 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. I’m particularly talking to young people who may think they’re immune to the effects of this virus. It’s true, most young people 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," Murphy stated.