International

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has sought support for an international investigation into the coronavirus pandemic in phone calls with US President Donald Trump and the German and French leaders, the government said yesterday.  Australia’s push for an independent review of the origins and spread of the pandemic, including the response of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has drawn sharp criticism from China, which has accused Australian lawmakers of taking instructions from the United States. The new coronavirus, believed to have emerged in a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, was first reported by China to the WHO on Dec 31. WHO informed member states of the outbreak on Jan 5 and warned publicly a week later that there was “limited” human-to-human transmission. WHO officials arrived in Wuhan on Jan 20, after the virus had spread to three other countries. It went on to declare a global emergency on Jan 30. The virus has since infected some 2.3mn people globally and killed nearly 160,000, according to Reuters calculations. Morrison said on Twitter yesterday he had “a very constructive discussion” with Trump on the two nation’s responses to Covid-19 and the need to get economies up and running. “We also talked about the WHO & working together to improve the transparency & effectiveness of the international responses to pandemics,” he tweeted. The White House has been fiercely critical of China and the WHO, and has withdrawn US funding from the UN agency. Morrison also spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron by phone about the role of the WHO, his office said. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly said that the UN agency will evaluate its handling of the pandemic after it ends and draw the appropriate lessons, as it does after all emergencies.  “WHO wants this more than any organisation because we want to learn from our mistakes, from our strengths and move forward. But for now the focus should be on fighting this virus,” Tedros told a briefing earlier this month. In Berlin, the government confirmed that Merkel had spoken with Morrison on Tuesday. Last Friday, her spokesman said: “The coronavirus appeared first in China. China has suffered a lot from the virus and did a lot to fight against spreading.” Australia is examining whether the WHO should be given powers, similar to international weapons inspectors, to enter a country to investigate an outbreak without having to wait for consent, a government source told Reuters. Senior Australian lawmakers have also questioned Beijing’s transparency over the pandemic. China’s embassy in Canberra said in a statement late on Tuesday that Australian lawmakers were acting as the mouthpiece of Trump and “certain Australian politicians are keen to parrot what those Americans have asserted and simply follow them in staging political attacks on China”. But Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has instead cast Australia as taking the lead in establishing an investigation because it was “a liberal democracy with a proved history of shaping constructive global co-operation”.   No country “need feel singled out”, she wrote in the Australian newspaper. Richard McGregor, senior fellow with foreign policy think tank The Lowy Institute, said the vitriolic reaction from Chinese diplomats towards Australia, even as France and Germany also called for more transparency from Beijing, showed “how bad bilateral relations are”. Morrison had been restrained in his comments about China, McGregor said, “but that doesn’t seem to have won him any brownie points in Beijing, which now has a settled view of Australia as a US lackey”. Ties between Australia and China have soured in recent years, with Canberra the first government to exclude telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies from its 5G network. Still, China is Australia’s largest trading partner, buying more than one-third of the country’s total exports, particularly iron ore and coal.  Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said that Australia maintains “a good relationship at the commercial level with China” and local jobs relied on this. Australia has recorded just over 6,600 cases of the virus nationally, with four new cases yesterday. Infection rates have slowed from 25% in mid-March to less than 1% a day. Lawmakers plan to ease some curbs, with Australia’s iconic Bondi Beach to partially reopen next week.

Researchers trying to save the Great Barrier Reef are attempting to cool the unusually warm sea temperatures using ‘cloud brightening’, a geo-engineering technique designed to reflect more of the sun’s rays away from the Earth. The team are spraying microscopic sea water droplets into the air over the reef, which creates more cloud cover and more shade in an effort to save the health of one of the world's most important marine ecosystems. In the last few weeks, and for the third time in five years, the Great Barrier Reef has suffered a mass bleaching event where stress from unusually warm water temperatures bleach the coral white and can kill it. February was the warmest month on record in terms of water temperatures around the reef, with readings in some places of more than 3 degrees Celsius above average for the time of year. ‘If we can brighten the clouds just a little bit over the whole summer, then we can cool down the water enough to stop some of the coral bleaching,’ said project leader and Southern Cross University Senior Lecturer Dr Daniel Harrison. The research comes after Australia suffered a devastating and lengthy bushfire season that burned nearly 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of bushland, killing 33 people and an estimated 1 billion native animals. Just before the coronavirus lockdown, the researchers managed to deploy two boats to a site over the Great Barrier Reef, 100km (62miles) west of Townsville, but without the international researchers who had planned to join them. They tested a prototype turbine to atomise seawater and blow it into the air, with a drone in the atmosphere and a sampling vessel 5 kilometres (3.11 miles) away on the sea surface. The water droplets evaporate leaving only tiny salt crystals which float up into the atmosphere allowing water vapour to condense around them, forming clouds. ‘When we did all the analysis cloud brightening came out as really one of the better ideas that we’d found because there’s very high energetic leverage,’ Harrison said. ‘So just a small amount of energy to produce these nano-sized salt crystals results in a very large amount of energy getting reflected back from the cloud and cooling down the coral,’ he added. Next year, the team plans to test the technology at three times the size, ready for a ten-fold increase a year later, which the researchers say should be able to brighten clouds across a 20-by-20-kilometre area. ‘If we find out that this technology works as well as we hope then one day we could have these machines scattered all through the Great Barrier Reef,’ Harrison said. ‘This might buy us a couple of decades but at the same time it’s absolutely essential that we reduce our emissions.’

* Australia begins easing restrictions imposed to slow coronavirus * Prime Minister declares Australia in the road to recovery * More elective surgeries allowed to restart * Growth of new coronavirus cases slows to less than 1% a day Declaring Australia was on the road to recovery with new coronavirus infections almost stamped out, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday hospitals will resume many elective surgeries and schools will be re-opened for more children. As part of broad social distancing restrictions, Australia in March banned all non-emergency surgeries to free-up hospital beds amid expectations of a surge in coronavirus cases. Schools were also closed. But with infection rates falling from more than 25% in mid-March to its current level of less than 1% a day, Morrison said in Canberra that Australia could relax some restrictions from next week. ‘We are on the road back and I think we have already reached a turning point,’ Morrison told reporters on Tuesday. Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Tuesday the easing of elective surgery restrictions was possible after authorities secured more protective and medical equipment, including a ‘full capacity’ of 7,500 ventilators. The expanded list of surgeries, including IVF and joint replacements, can begin next week. The government said it would release details of a contact tracing app - designed to alert users if they come into close contact with people later diagnosed with COVID-19 - shortly. Authorities believe the tracing app needs to be put in place before many services are re-opened. SCHOOLS TO REOPEN After more than a month of teaching children online, Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), said all students will begin face-to-face lessons next month. NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said students will begin to return to school on May 11 on a staggered basis in preparation for full-time schooling to re-start in July. ‘It's time to turn our mind to getting our kids back into the classroom,’ Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney. ‘We will have extra cleaning, extra sanitiser, extra health provisions, including forehead thermometers and also extra health equipment in our sick bays.’ Australia is one of the few nations around the world to detail plans to re-open schools. Despite sometimes conflicting advice from the federal government, which had wanted schools to remain open, children of emergency workers are among the few who have continued to go to school. Education is run by Australia's state and territory governments. The re-opening of schools has been a key demand of the federal government, which hopes the move will stimulate Australia's economy and allow parents to better juggle work commitments. NSW, home to a third of Australia's population and the state that has recorded the most COVID-19 cases, reported just six new cases of coronavirus in the last day. The southern state of Victoria recorded seven new infections, while Queensland, in the country's north-east, documented six new cases. Iron-ore rich Western Australia reported one additional infection overnight. Nationally, Australia has recorded about 6,600 cases of coronavirus and 71 deaths.

More than 150 Australian economists yesterday warned the government against easing social distancing rules aimed at halting the spread of the new coronavirus even as the rate of infections slowed to a multi-week low.  Australia has so far avoided the high numbers of coronavirus casualties reported around the world after closing its borders and imposing restrictions on public movement. While the measures have slowed the growth in new infections to fewer than 40 new cases a day, the restrictions are expected to push unemployment to a 16-year high of about 10%.  With growing calls to ease the restrictions, leading Australian economists issued an open letter to call on the government to prioritise containing the spread of coronavirus.  “We cannot have a functioning economy unless we first comprehensively address the public health crisis,” the group of 157 economists from Australian universities wrote. Australia’s government and central bank have said they will inject A$320bn ($203bn) into the country’s economy to try and cushion the economic blow.  Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week said there would no easing of Australia’s restrictions for at least four weeks, and several state premiers on Monday urged the public to keep to the social distancing rules. “We’ve all made massive sacrifices, given a lot. We can’t give back all the gains made because of sense of frustration gets the better of us,” Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne. Any significant easing of the current limitations would not occur until Australia had increased testing capacity, strengthened contact tracing and readied local responses for further outbreaks, Andrews said.  Central to the government’s strategy is a controversial new mobile phone app that will track users’ movements to allow contact tracing in the event of an outbreak of coronavirus.  The government said it will need at least 40% of the country’s population to be signed up to make it effective. But with new infections in hardest-hit New South Wales state falling to a five-week low, the government may ease some minor restrictions when the national Cabinet meets on Tuesday. Morrison last week said the Cabinet would be considering ending a ban on elective surgeries, and the Australia’s main medical association said recent deliveries of protection equipment would mean some procedures could restart.  “We’ve been so successful so far that that’s given us the opportunity now to plan a sensible, safe, graduated return into the low-risk procedures which provide clinical benefit to patients,” Tony Bartone, the head of Australian Medical Association told Channel 7.

Digital giants Google and Facebook will be forced to pay millions of dollars for news content under a landmark plan by the Australian government to support the ailing local media, which has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced on Monday a mandatory code to be finalised in July on digital platforms ‘to address bargaining power imbalances’ with the local media companies. ‘We are taking the decisive decision to create a mandatory code, seeking to be the first country in the world to ensure that these social media giants pay for content,’ Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra. ‘It is about holding these tech titans to account, about ensuring genuine competition. It is about delivering a level playing field. It is about keeping jobs in journalism and it is about ensuring a fair outcome for all.’    Since March, the coronavirus outbreak and restrictions implemented to slow its spread have caused a sharp decline in Australian media's advertising revenue and complicated operations, leading to dozens of outlets shutting down or scaling back. The code, which initially was meant to be voluntary and to be rolled out later, will be developed by the country's watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The commission conducted a 18-month-long digital platforms inquiry last year targeting tech giants like Facebook and Google to address their growing market prowess, ensure fair competition and increase transparency. ‘The Government has decided that the original timeframe set out in its response requires acceleration,’ Frydenberg said, adding the Australian media sector was already under significant pressure, which ‘has now been exacerbated’ by the impact of the virus.

Australia on Sunday added to growing pressure on China over its handling of the novel coronavirus, questioning its transparency and demanding an international investigation into the origins of the virus and how it spread. The coronavirus is believed to have emerged in a market selling wildlife in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. It has spread around the world infecting some 2.3 million people and killing nearly 160,000 of them, according to Reuters calculations. Australia's foreign minister, Marise Payne, said her concern about China's transparency was at a ‘a very high point’. ‘The issues around the coronavirus are issues for independent review, and I think that it is important that we do that,’ Payne told ABC television. ‘In fact, Australia will absolutely insist on that.’ Australia has managed to get its epidemic under control before it strained its public health system, reporting 53 new cases on Sunday. They took its total to 6,586, according to the health ministry data. There have been 71 deaths in Australia. The rate of increase in new cases has been below 1% for seven consecutive days - much lower than in many other countries. Payne's call for an enquiry into the outbreak comes at time of tense ties between her country and its most important trading partner. Relations have deteriorated amid Australian accusations of Chinese meddling in domestic affairs and concern about what Australia sees as China's growing, and undue, influence in the Pacific region. ‘My trust in China is predicated in the long-term,’ Payne said. ‘My concern is around transparency and ensuring that we are able to engage openly.’ Australia's call for an investigation comes as US President Donald Trump has been stepping up his criticism of China. Trump and his senior aides have also accused China of a lack of transparency after the coronavirus broke out. On Saturday, Trump said China should face consequences if it was ‘knowingly responsible’ for the pandemic. China dismisses such criticism saying it has been open about the outbreak and in warning the world about it. 'DIDN'T HELP' Last week, Trump suspended aid to the World Health Organization accusing it of being ‘China-centric’. The Geneva-based agency rejected that but Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt also criticised it, saying some of its response to the coronavirus was not helpful. ‘What we saw from some officials in Geneva, we think was a response which didn't help the world,’ Hunt told a briefing. ‘We have done well because we made our own decisions as a country.’ Australia went against the advice of the WHO on Feb. 1 and banned people arriving from China. It later closed its borders and imposed strict curbs on public movements. Hunt said Australia was winning in its campaign against the coronavirus but had not yet won. ‘We have to focus on containment and capacity,’ he said. Neighbouring New Zealand, which adopted one the world's harshest lockdowns even before reporting a first death, has been even more successful in suppressing coronavirus. There were four new confirmed cases in New Zealand on Sunday, bringing the total of infections to 1,098. Eleven people have died, health ministry data showed. ‘I know it hasn't been easy, but it has been working,’ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a televised briefing. She said her government will meet on Monday to decide whether to ease social distancing restrictions.

The German-owned cruise ship, which was quarantined in Western Australia due to dozens of coronavirus cases, has finally left the country. The coronavirus-plagued Artania, owned by German cruise company Phoenix Reisen, had seen a fatal outbreak of the disease and a stand-off with the Western Australia authorities after it refused to leave. The ship moved away from the dock in Fremantle, south of Perth, where it had been moored for the past two weeks, and headed out to sea en route to Germany just after 1 pm (0500 GMT), a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told dpa. The ship, which plans to make stops in Indonesia and the Philippines to drop off staff, is carrying more than 400 people, mostly crew. ‘Thank you! Fremantle,’ a large sign on the ship said. `Some of the crew who are expected to return home on a charter flight were removed from the ship on Saturday and transferred to a Perth hotel, according to Western Australia authorities. The departure will come as a big relief for the state government, who had asked the ship to leave as soon as possible and also requested the federal government to assist in pushing the vessel out to sea.  ‘It was very pleasing to see her leave Fremantle port, but I think we'll all breathe a sigh of relief when it leaves Australian waters,’ Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan told reporters in Perth. A total of 81 crew and passengers from Artania have tested positive for coronavirus and dozens of them are in Perth hospitals, while three people - two crew and one passenger - have died due to the disease. Some 844 healthy passengers and crew were flown out to Germany late last month in four Condor Airlines flights. On Saturday, the crew and passengers waved from the ship to large crowds who had gathered to watch them depart at the dock, according to video footage shown on Australian television. Earlier in the morning, buses ferried passengers and crew members back and forth from the city, with dozens taken from the hotel to Artania, while dozens of others disembarked to fly out of Perth by air.  Before the ship left, two crew members were married on the wharf in Fremantle, just near the Artania's boarding plank, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.  The Artania arrived in Australian waters last month. After days of stalemate, it was allowed earlier this month to stay until Friday by the Australian Border Force, imposing a 14-day-quarantine on the cruise ship and assisting in the ‘deep clean’ of the vessel.  A group of schoolchildren from Perth wrote heartfelt postcards this week to the crew members, wishing them a safe journey home. ‘These pictures and messages have brought a bit of warmth and love into our hearts during this challenging time!’ Morten Hansen, the Artania's captain, said in a Facebook post overnight. ‘Thank you, kids, very much for the nice words and next time we are here we are looking forward to see your charming city.’   Australia has more than 6,550 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 70 fatalities.  According to health authorities, coronavirus cases from cruise ships, including those who have come from abroad, are responsible for more than a quarter of confirmed Covid-19 infections in Australia, as well as about 40 per cent of the death toll.

Australians were strongly urged to sign up for a controversial mobile phone app that will track their movements as officials warned yesterday that public life could be constrained for another year because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Prime Minister Scott Morrison said downloading the smartphone software, which has been criticised by civil liberties groups as an invasion of privacy, would initially be voluntary. However, he declined to rule out making use of the “TraceTogether” app compulsory, stressing the ability to detect potential new outbreaks would be a key part of giving officials the confidence to begin winding back strict “social distancing” measures. “I will be calling on Australians to do it, frankly, as a matter of national service,” Morrison told radio station Triple M. “This would be something they might not normally do in an ordinary time, but this is not an ordinary time. If you download this app, you’ll be helping to save someone’s life.” The government is planning to roll out the app within the next two weeks after finalising legal issues around privacy, Morrison said. Australia has so far avoided the high numbers of coronavirus casualties reported around the world after closing its borders and imposing restrictions on public movement.  Restaurants, bars and other “non-essential” businesses have closed and public gatherings of more than two people are banned under the threat of fines and even prison, measures that are expected to double the unemployment rate by mid-year. The daily growth rate of reported new infections has steadied in the low percentage single digits, or fewer than 50 per day, from about 25% several weeks ago.  The country’s most populous states reported 43 new cases yesterday, taking the total to 6,522, while the death toll rose by two to 65. Morrison said this week that all social distancing measures will remain in place for at least another four weeks, and some would likely remain for up to a year. Any easing of the current limitations would not occur until Australia had increased testing capacity, strengthened contact tracing and readied local responses for further outbreaks, he said. The smartphone app would be key to improving contact tracing by detecting whether people had spent more than 15 minutes with others who may have been infected. Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said at least 40% of people would need to be signed up to make it effective. The TraceTogether app has been available in Singapore since March 20, but its success has been limited with less than one in five downloading the app, the city state’s government said earlier this month.  Officials in the country’s most populous state, New South Wales, on Thursday said they were considering imposing an ongoing roster system for children to return to school after the current Easter vacation. Schools have been a source of division between the federal government, which has urged them to reopen, and the states and territories, which are responsible for their governance.  Morrison has cited data showing the low risk of transmission posed by children, while state officials are dealing with a backlash from parents and teachers concerned about exposure to the virus.  “We are considering our options around a rostering system which will have some students go back on a particular day to increase that level of face-to-face,” New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters. “The alternative is that unfortunately students could face up to a year or longer at home and we don’t think that’s appropriate.” For universities, which rely on fees from international students, the international border closure could cost them as much as A$19bn ($12.09bn), Victoria University said in an analysis released yesterday , forecasting a further A$38bn hit to the broader economy.  In the neighbouring Pacific islands, Papua New Guinea Prime (PNG) Minister James Marape said he has been tested for Covid-19 after exposure to an infected employee at the country’s emergency operations centre.  PNG has also introduced lockdown measures, including a nightly curfew, a ban on all public gatherings, the closure of public transport and the prohibition of the sale of alcohol, Marape said in an e-mailed statement.

Australia will retain curbs on public movement for at least four more weeks, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday, dashing speculation the sustained low growth in new cases could spur a quicker return to normal.  Australia has avoided the high numbers of coronavirus casualties reported in other countries around the world after closing its borders and imposing strict “social distancing” measures for the past month. Restaurants, bars and other “non-essential” businesses have closed and public gatherings of more than two people have been banned under the threat of fines and even prison— measures that are expected to double the unemployment rate by mid-year. In response, the daily growth rate of reported new infections has steadied in the low percentage single digits, from about 25% several weeks ago, for a total of about 6,500 infections, including 63 deaths. Still, Morrison said the rules would not be relaxed until national testing capacity has been increased, contact tracing of known Covid-19 cases expanded and a response to any future outbreak fully prepared. “We want to be very clear with Australians, baseline restrictions we have in place at the moment, there are no plans to change those for the next four weeks,” Morrison told reporters. Morrison later told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that coronavirus testing may be expanded to include random sampling. An eventual staggered relaxation on restrictions was likely, he said, with curbs on manufacturing and retail industries being eased first. Morrison has in recent days pushed state and territory leaders to re-open schools.  Morrison has cited medical advice that children carry a low risk of transmitting the virus as he advocated for the re-opening schools to help boost the economy, which is headed for its first recession in three decades. However, some leaders of the eight states and territories — which administer schools — have departed from that policy and ordered schools to remain shut to all but the children of “essential” workers, including those in the health and grocery sectors.  In Victoria, the second most populous state where officials have told parents to keep children at home if possible, just 3% of children attended school on Tuesday, the first day after the Easter break.  Students in other states and territories remain on mid-term vacation. An agreement on the issue was not reached at a meeting yesterday of the national cabinet, made up of state and federal leaders, formed to tackle the crisis. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said Australia’s choice of a “suppression” strategy, as opposed to a full shutdown of public life as adopted by neighbour New Zealand, could free the country of the virus without hefty economic penalties.  “We don’t feel the need to hold the country very seriously in lockdown until we have no cases,” Murphy said. “If that happens with the measures we are doing now, that would be fantastic.”  In Sydney, police entered the Villawood immigration detention centre to end rooftop and hunger strike protests begun by some refugee inmates on Saturday.  Three detainees who refused to come down from the roof were arrested and taken into custody. Detainees were angry the government has refused pleas to release them from the centre amid the health crisis and denied them testing.  While some countries have released some non-violent detainees from prisons and detention centres, Australia has so far refused to do so.

More than 100 Australians and New Zealanders left Uruguay on a chartered flight after two weeks stranded aboard a virus-infected cruise ship, Montevideo's Carrasco airport said Saturday. Of 217 people aboard the Greg Mortimer liner, 128 had tested positive for new coronavirus and had been blocked from docking. An agreement between the Uruguayan and Australian governments was made to create a "sanitary corridor" to take the mostly elderly tourists from Montevideo's port to its international airport where they boarded a flight for Melbourne, bringing to an end weeks of a virus nightmare. Television images showed jubilant passengers boarding the medically equipped Airbus A350 plane -- with one kissing the runway tarmac. "This is (like) winning a World Cup," Uruguay's Foreign Minister Ernesto Talvi tweeted alongside a video of four buses -- flanked by a police escort with blaring sirens -- taking the roughly 110 passengers to the airport. "Flags waving in the balconies and residents applauding. This is the BEST of Uruguay," he added. Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne tweeted her thanks to her Uruguayan counterpart Talvi "for your sincere assistance in recent times to ensure the (Australian) passengers have been able to head home." She added "special thanks to... all health, emergency & other workers involved" and praised the "unique cooperation" between Uruguay and Australia. The Australian and New Zealand tourists on the flight included people who tested negative and others confirmed ill with the virus. On the plane, passengers were to be "seated by test results and level of care required by passenger," said Australian company Aurore Expeditions, owner of the Greg Mortimer. The tourists were on an expedition to Antarctica, South Georgia and Elephant Island when their adventure was called off on March 20 due to the nearest South American countries -- Argentina and Chile -- closing their borders and imposing lockdowns. The ship traveled to Montevideo as it was the nearest port still open. It had been anchored in the Rio de la Plata, 20 kilometers from the coast since March 27. Since then, eight people were transferred to Montevideo hospitals with "life-threatening" conditions. All are in a stable condition and Uruguay's foreign ministry told AFP three Australians undergoing hospital treatment would be allowed to fly home as they were in sufficiently good health to travel. Two are a couple who were brought ashore and taken to a hospital on Wednesday suffering from pneumonia, while the third person had been receiving clinical attention since last week. Of the other people receiving hospital treatment, two Australians are in intensive care and their partners remained on the Greg Mortimer rather than taking the flight. Two Filipino crew members are due to be discharged and released to quarantine on the ship. The eighth person to have received hospital treatment is a British woman. At the port, some passengers hung a banner from the boat with the words: "Thank you Uruguay." Talvi had described the operation as "a complex but necessary humanitarian mission." He added: "We don't consider it an option, but rather an ethical obligation." However, as Uruguay's government considered all people on board the ship to be infected -- even if they tested negative -- Talvi said this week there would be "practically no human contact" between the passengers and others during the transfer operation. Aurore said it was covering the transfer costs for all passengers and that New Zealand was organizing further travel on from Melbourne for its citizens. After the evacuation more than 80 crew members, as well as around 20 Europeans and Americans, will remain on board. Those who have tested positive for the virus "will have to wait until they test negative" before heading home via Sao Paulo, Aurore said on Tuesday. Those who have already tested negative will be allowed to leave in the coming days, provided they first pass another test.

Australian police have issued dozens of fines after a large car rally was held in a Brisbane suburb despite strict coronavirus pandemic restrictions. Around 150 cars and a large number of people congregated in a warehouse car park for the rally in Rochedale, Queensland Police said in a statement on Sunday.  Outdoor gatherings of more than two people, except for members one household, is prohibited in Australia in an eddort to contain the spread of the disease. Authorities have asked people to stay at home unless going out for essentials, like groceries, medical emergencies, exercise, work or school. The police issued 58 infringement notices to drivers and passengers aged between 17 and 30, with each amounting to a fine of 1,334 dollars (800 US dollars).  Police said they were ‘left disappointed and frustrated’ after having to issue infringement notices ‘for failing to comply with a Covid-19 direction issued by the chief health officer.’   Multiple police units responded as many of the cars attempted to flee the area, with some driving across grassland and becoming bogged in the process, police said. Queensland Police's deputy commissioner Steve Gollschewski, who is also the disaster coordinator for the state, said, such ‘blatant disregard puts all Queenslanders at risk.’   ‘It is inexcusable what happened at Rochedale last night and such blatant disregard for the lives of Queenslanders will not be tolerated.’  ‘This is all about safety. About saving lives. About stopping the spread of Covid-19. We all, every single one of us, must do our bit. We are in this together,’ she said.  In Queensland, there are 907 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with a large majority of new cases found in Australians returning from overseas, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Sunday.  Five people have died due to Covid-19, including a 78-year-old man, a passenger of the Sydney's coronavirus-stricken Ruby Princess cruise ship, who died on Sunday.  Queensland has closed its border with other states. State residents are still allowed to return home and freight traffic is exempt. Others need a government permit to cross the border.

Australia reported a sustained fall in new coronavirus infections and conducted the biggest peacetime maritime operation on Sydney Harbour yesterday, refuelling foreign cruise ships before expelling them from local waters. Confirmed cases rose by 198 over the 24-hour period to yesterday, bringing the national total to 5,548, health ministry data showed. The death toll from Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, rose to 30. That kept the country’s daily new infection rate at about 5%, significantly below the 25-30% increases recorded around two weeks ago, but officials stressed it was still too early to claim victory. “What I really would caution against is thinking we have got through this completely, because we definitely have not,” Deputy Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said in a televised briefing. “We really have to be hypervigilant now.” Australia has imposed strict social distancing, including limiting public gatherings to just two people. State borders, cafes, clubs, parks and gyms have been closed. Several states have also given police the power to enforce the rules via hefty on-the-spot fines and potential jail terms. “All of the hard work of Australians is beginning to yield real dividends in terms of lives saved and infections prevented,” Health Minister Greg Hunt told Sky News. “Every one of us can save a life, or any one of us, by doing the wrong thing, could risk a life.” In Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) state police were coordinating the movements of five foreign flagged cruise ships, carrying hundreds of crew, as they entered the harbour to refuel and stock up on supplies before returning to their home ports. Cruise ships have become a flashpoint in Australia’s response to the pandemic, with public anger after Carnival Corp’s Ruby Princess was last month allowed to disembark passengers in Sydney, many of whom later tested positive for Covid-19. Cruise ships are responsible for around 20% of Australia’s coronavirus cases. Seven deaths and more than 600 infections have been attributed to the Ruby Princess alone. Australia’s decision to close its ports has led to tense negotiations with several ships. The operation in Sydney Harbour yesterday was also allowing crew transfers among ships to enable workers to join the vessel heading closest to their home. While cruise ships were being ordered away, the foreign ministry said yesterday that workers from Pacific countries who are employed as fruitpickers and farm workers would be allowed to extend their visas for another 12 months.

The Australian government has said over 2 million people on temporary visas, including students, skilled workers, and visitors, in the country, should ‘go home’ as soon as possible, amid an economic downturn and joblessness due to the coronavirus pandemic. There are 2.17 million foreigners currently in Australia on different temporary visas, and are ‘extremely valuable to the Australian economy and way of life,’ Alan Tudge, the acting immigration minister, said Saturday in a statement.  But, Tudge said, ‘temporary visa holders who are unable to support themselves under these arrangements over the next six months are strongly encouraged to return home.’ ‘For these individuals, it's time to go home, and they should make arrangements as quickly as possible.’ This does not include permanent residents. Tudge said 203,000 tourists in Australia needed to ‘return to their home country as quickly as possible.’   There are about 118,000 backpackers and other visitors on working holiday visas (or backpacker visas) - a type of visa which provides conditional work rights, Tudge said.  Germany has the third-highest number of backpackers in Australia, with some 19,000 Germans holding such visas. These working holidaymakers will be exempt from work limitations and can have their visas extended if they are employed in certain sectors, including health care, aged and disability care, childcare, agriculture and food processing. But if they do not ‘have the confidence to sustain themselves over the next six months,’ they should leave the country,’ Tudge said.  Many backpackers have complained about strict restrictions stopping them from finding work and providing for themselves. Many have been stopped from travelling around Australia amid coronavirus restrictions, while conditions in hostels and guest houses have deteriorated due to social distancing rules.  Currently, 565,000 international students in Australia contribute 32.4 billion dollars to the country's economy, making the sector the third-largest largest export after iron and coal, as well as supporting some 250,000 jobs. They have been encouraged to ‘rely on family support, part-time work where available and their own savings to sustain themselves in Australia’ during the coronavirus-inflicted economic crisis. Students in financial hardship will be able to access their superannuation - retirement funds. Some of them will get financial support from international education providers, while others will have some flexibility in visa conditions, like attending classes. International students working in aged care, as nurses, and in the major supermarkets, can extend their working hours if they are allowed.  Suvash Pokharel, a university student in Sydney, told dpa he has not been able to find a job since he was laid off in March.  ‘I came to Australia because it was possible to work and study here. I am very worried about my future, but I also can't go back to Nepal immediately,’ he said. Australian Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi criticized the government, saying it has abandoned international students to the risk of poverty and homelessness during the pandemic.  ‘Hundreds of international students have contacted me over the last few days to share their stories of unemployment, financial stress and precarious living situations,’ she said in a statement. ‘Now, the government has confirmed they will not lift a finger to support these hundreds of thousands of students who we welcomed into our country and whose fees and work we've all benefited from.’

Australia on Sunday announced a nearly US$100 million boost in funding to tackle domestic violence after support services reported a spike in coronavirus-related family abuse. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there had been a 75 percent surge in Google searches for help during the ongoing nationwide shutdown of non-essential services to curb the spread of Covid-19. Women's Safety, a domestic violence charity in Australia's most populous New South Wales state, has reported that more than 40 percent of workers had seen an increase in client numbers, with over a third of cases directly linked to the virus outbreak. In neighbouring Victoria, women's support service Wayss said police requests for assistance with cases had almost doubled in the past week, as they dealt with a form of abuse "not experienced before". "Just having the people in the house, rather than having the pressure release of going to work, or being able to travel freely outside of the house are contributing factors," Wayss CEO Liz Thomas told public broadcaster ABC. "We've also seen half a dozen examples in the past week where perpetrators have actually used Covid-19 as a form of abuse -- telling their partner that they have the virus, therefore they can't leave the house." Perpetrators have also invited "people into the house where the woman is self-isolating, saying that the visitor has Covid-19 and is going to infect them", Thomas said. Prime Minister Morrison said the Aus$150 million boost -- part of an additional Aus$1.1 billion in health-related spending announced Sunday -- would be spent on telephone support services for both domestic violence victims and abusers. "We need to put more resources into supporting people who will be vulnerable and may be vulnerable," he told reporters in Canberra. The government is also increasing funding for online mental health services, telephone medical consultations and emergency food relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has left many people largely confined to their homes. Australia has recorded almost 4,000 cases of Covid-19, with the death toll rising to 16 on Sunday.

* Death toll rises to 14, coronavirus cases at 3,378 * Authorities concerned about community transmission * Mandatory quarantine for Australians returning from abroad Australia stepped up enforcement of social distancing rules on Saturday to contain community transmission of the novel coronavirus, implementing fines, closing beaches and threatening stricter measures if people defy pleas to stay at home. The death toll from the virus rose to 14 after an elderly woman died in an aged-care facility in New South Wales (NSW)state where several residents and employees have tested positive for the virus, according to NSW health officials. The country's total number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 212 to 3,378 early on Saturday, two-thirds of them in NSW and Victoria states, according to the federal heath ministry. The infection rate in Australia remains slower than in many other countries, although it is accelerating, especially in the most populous states of NSW and Victoria where more than half of the country's 25.5-million people live. As of midnight on Saturday, all returning citizens from abroad will be put into compulsory quarantine in hotels for two weeks at the government's expense. Military personnel will help ensure travellers comply with the new rules. "There's so many parts of the world where this (coronavirus) is running rampant and I think every returned traveller is a significant risk," Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told a televised briefing. Two-thirds of the cases in Australia have been traced to contact with people returning from overseas, government health officials said, although community transmission has been growing. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said harsher enforcement of social distancing could be necessary if community transmission began to rise "at a rate that we are not comfortable with". Australia's state and federal governments have sent some mixed messages about social distancing and other containment measures, leading to widespread confusion. While there is no national order to stay home, entertainment and other mass-gathering venues have been shut and authorities have urged people to cancel house parties and other social gatherings. In Victoria, police closed beaches on Saturday after hundreds of people flocked to the waterside a day earlier in a repeat of scenes the previous weekend at Sydney's Bondi beach. Police raided a party at a backpacker hostel at Bondi on Friday night, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported. Victoria and South Australia states implemented on-the-spot fines for people and businesses breaking social distancing rules, following similar measures introduced by NSW. In Queensland state more than one million people headed to polling stations on Saturday for council elections, and were asked to bring their own pens and maintain distances of 1.5 metres, the state government said. 

Australia will expand coronavirus testing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday, as Canberra struggles to contain an outbreak that it said has killed nine people in the country.  After a gradual spread in January, the number of cases in Australia appears to be tracking sharper spikes seen elsewhere, prompting warnings that hospitals could be overwhelmed. As the number of cases topped 2,500, Morrison said Australia will expand testing to include people if they present with fever or an acute respiratory infection, as part of a move to help hospitals ready for an expected influx of new patients.  Australia had previously limited testing to people displaying symptoms who had recently returned from overseas. This has been widely criticised and the expansion of testing came as authorities signalled a more aggressive approach. Morrison said high-risk groups to be tested include health workers, employees in care facilities for the elderly, prisoners, boarding school pupils and military base personnel.  Doctors will also be allowed to test hospital patients who display coronavirus symptoms. “Every extra bit of time allows us to better prepare our health system and put measures in place to protect Australian lives,” Morrison said in an e-mailed statement. Australia also said it would force passengers on a ship into quarantine and refused entry to another vessel amid concern that cruise ships have been a breeding ground for many of the new coronavirus cases in Australia, including it ninth fatality. Queensland state said a 68-year-old man had become Australia’s youngest person to die from coronavirus. The MV Artania, owned by Germany’s Phoenix Reisen, was scheduled to dock in Perth and called ahead for medical assistance after 25 of its 800 passengers reported respiratory problems, the West Australian state government said.  The authorities refused to let it dock and sent local health professionals onto the ship, which had no Australians onboard. Another cruise ship, the Vasco da Gama, was due in Perth on Friday with 800 Australians and 109 New Zealanders on board. It will now be forced to dock at Rottnest Island, a former prison outpost, where a makeshift quarantine station was being set up. Foreigners would be flown home, while Australians would be let back into the country after 14 days of quarantine. Phoenix Reisen, the MV Artania owner, was not immediately available for comment. About 2,700 cruise passengers entered Sydney this week without health checks, and more than 130 have been confirmed as having coronavirus. Australia has extended restrictions across the country, including limiting the size of weddings and funerals and closing non-essential businesses such as bars, restaurants and cinemas. But Australian lawmakers have been frustrated that some have disregarded warnings to increase social distancing and to self-isolate if returning from overseas. Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews said 500 police officers will be checking to ensure people are complying.  In neighbouring New South Wales (NSW), police will fine people A$1,000 ($604) for breaching rules that include limits of 10 people in outside gatherings, spaced 1.5 metres apart. Western Australia will impose a limit on alcohol home purchases to lighten the law enforcement load for alcohol-related offences and minimise any health impact.

* Australian leaders frustrated with social distancing breaches * Leaders warn hospital system could be overwhelmed * Ex-Fortescue CEO to lead corporate taskforce * New restrictions limit wedding, funeral attendance numbers * Cruise represents single biggest source of infection Australia said on Wednesday it would force passengers on a ship into quarantine on a tourist island and refused entry to another vessel as authorities slapped heavy curbs on people movement to stop the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Both ships are currently off the coast of Western Australia, where the state government was desperate to avoid repeating an incident on the other side of the country where 2,700 cruise passengers entered Sydney without health checks, including more than 130 who had the virus. The MV Artania, owned by Germany's Phoenix Reisen, was scheduled to dock in Perth and called ahead for medical assistance after 25 of its 800 passengers reported respiratory problems, the West Australian state government said. The authorities refused to let it dock and sent local health professionals onto the ship, which had no Australians onboard, for checks. Another cruise ship, the Vasco da Gama, was due in Perth on Friday with 800 Australians and 109 New Zealanders on board. It will now be forced to dock at Rottnest Island, a former prison outpost that is now popular with day-trippers, where a makeshift quarantine station was being set up. Foreigners would be flown home, while Australians would be let back into the country after 14 days of quarantine. ‘We have seen what has happened in Sydney Harbour...it was a complete and utter disaster,’ West Australian premier Mark McGowan told reporters. Phoenix Reisen, the MV Artania owner, was not immediately available for comment. Australians are now adjusting to life under extraordinary restrictions intended to stop the spread of the illness that has so far infected about 2,500 people and killed eight nationally, including one passenger from the Ruby Princess cruise, owned by Carnival Corp, which docked in Sydney. The federal government on Wednesday limited wedding gatherings to five people and funerals to 10 and ordered beauty clinics, gyms, pubs and food court dining areas to close. Local authorities have introduced measures to enforce bans on social gatherings, including fines. The government also banned most elective surgery to free up hospital beds and staff for a projected influx of coronavirus-infected patients. Officials warned an accelerating number of patients could overwhelm intensive care units, tracking developments in other countries. ‘These are very difficult changes that we're asking Australians to make,’ Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a televised media conference. Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews said if the same long queues appearing outside offices of the main welfare agency, Centrelink, started forming at hospitals, there would be fatal consequences. ‘If this gets away from us, our health system will be overrun and people won't just be queuing for Centrelink payments, they'll be queuing for heart, lung machines and ventilators and intensive care beds and we know what that means - you cannot queue for intensive care,’ Andrews said in Melbourne. Morrison also unveiled a corporate taskforce to be led by Nev Power, former chief executive of iron ore miner Fortescue and a host of high-profile business figures, to redeploy workforces and equipment, and protect supply chains. Australian leaders have become increasingly frustrated with breaches of social distancing measures that saw thousands flock to beaches and pubs in recent days before new restrictions were implemented. Andrews said 500 Victorian police were checking on thousands of people who had returned from overseas to make sure they obeyed isolation orders. In neighbouring New South Wales (NSW) state, police will fine individuals A$1,000 ($604) for breaching social distancing rules that include limits of 10 people in outside gatherings, spaced 1.5 metres apart. Western Australia will impose a limit on alcohol home purchases to lighten the law enforcement load for alcohol-related offences and minimise the health effects of drinking. 'MONUMENTAL STUFF-UP' NSW authorities face growing criticism over the handling of the Ruby Princess, which unloaded passengers without checks on March 19 despite complaints of onboard health problems. NSW Police Minister David Elliott called the blunder a ‘monumental stuff-up’ while federal officials said state agencies bore responsibility, since they had determined the ship was ‘low risk.’ Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram, speaking in Canberra, said human biosecurity-related matters came under the jurisdiction of health departments of states and territories.

Australia will close food outlets at shopping centres, place limits on weddings and funerals and ban overseas travel, the government said yesterday, after a jump in the number of coronavirus infections.  Many of the newly identified cases of Covid-19 came from a cruise ship whose passengers were allowed to disembark last week even though several showed signs of illness. The country, where many schools remain open, has now recorded eight deaths and more than 2,000 cases, and is beginning to track others experiencing sharp increases in recorded infections.  In the latest of a series of restrictions, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said five people would be able to attend weddings — the couple, the celebrant and two witnesses — while funerals would be limited to 10 guests. Beauty salons would also close and real estate open houses and auctions would be halted when the new rules come into force from midnight today.  “If we do all these things then we are going to be able to put greater pressure on slowing the rate of the spread of this virus,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra. An eighth person, a woman in her 70s, died and the number of cases rose fastest in the most populous states of New South Wales and Victoria. “We are very worried about the rate of the rise,” said Brendan Murphy, Australia’s chief medical officer. Of some 400 new cases announced yesterday, around 90 were passengers who disembarked the Carnival Corp’s Ruby Princess cruise ship. In a chain of events described by New South Wales state Police Minister David Elliott as a “monumental stuff-up”, about 2,700 passengers were allowed to leave the ship when it docked in Sydney on March 19 despite about a dozen passengers showing signs of ill health.  About 60% of the passengers were Australian, and 20% were from the United States, ship records showed. By yesterday, around 130 of those passengers had tested positive and officials were frantically hunting down other travellers to test them and track their movements. Morrison said authorities would consider harsh new penalties for anyone who does not comply with an self-isolation order. Australia has already ordered pubs to close and restricted restaurants and cafes to offering takeaway services in a bid to limit social gatherings. The economic impact was becoming visible, with long queues forming outside offices of the main welfare agency across the country. Westpac economists said the extraordinary measures to counter the spread of the disease would push the unemployment rate above 11%, which would be the highest since the country was last in recession in the early 1990s.  For many, there has been anger over mixed messages from officials in Australia’s system of federal and state governments, which are separately responsible for regulating different services. The operation of schools has been a flashpoint, with Morrison advising they remain open, while some state leaders urged parents to keep their children home.  “It is as clear as mud and no wonder parents are confused out there,” Anthony Albanese, the leader of the federal opposition party, told ABC Radio. Morrison was due to meet with the national cabinet formed to deal with the crisis, comprising state and federal political and health officials, later yesterday to discuss the next steps.

Australians began living under strict new lockdown rules yesterday as coronavirus cases topped 1,600 and authorities denied entry to a cruise ship carrying hundreds on board complaining of respiratory illnesses. As new restrictions closing non-essential services came into effect, there were clear signs of economic and social stress with long queues forming outside offices of the main welfare agency across the country.  After reporting only a gradual spread in January, the number of Covid-19 cases in Australia now appears to be tracking the much sharper increases seen elsewhere with the most populous states of New South Wales and Victoria recording the fastest rises. Most states have now closed their borders to travellers from other parts of the country and effected their own lockdown laws, in addition to the national curbs announced on Sunday. Western Australia yesterday banned passengers on board the Swiss-owned MSC Magnifica cruise ship from disembarking. Of 1,700 passengers on board the ship, more than 250 have complained of respiratory illnesses. It was due to dock at Western Australia’s Fremantle port as early as Monday evening. That decision comes days after 2,700 passengers disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney harbour, with 48 on board subsequently testing positive for the virus. “I will not allow what happened in Sydney to happen here,” West Australian Premier Mark McGowan said. “We will not allow passengers or crew to wander the streets.” A spokesman for MSC Cruises did not immediately respond to requests for comment. New measures designed to minimise the spread of the virus mean many non-essential services, including pubs, clubs, cinemas, gyms and houses of worship, were closed yesterday. “There will be no more going to the pub after work, no more going to the gym in the morning, and no more sitting down for brunch at a cafe,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament. Morrison said the immense health and economic challenges of the global pandemic would be the “toughest year of our lives” and warned Australians to prepare for shutdowns that could last six months.  Despite warnings to practice social distancing, thousands flocked to Sydney’s Bondi Beach and frequented bars and restaurants over the weekend. Morrison said the new measures were needed to enforce social distancing, and more draconian measures could be enacted down the line. Supermarkets, pharmacies, freight and retail will continue to trade, while cafes and restaurants will only be able to offer takeaway and delivery services. The economic fallout of the crisis was visible on the streets yesterday with hundreds of Australians lining up outside government offices in Sydney and Melbourne to register for social security payments. Many tried to practice social distancing as lines stretched around the block. The website for government welfare services crashed, overwhelmed by an “unprecedented” number of online queries. The benchmark index plunged more than 8% at the open, a day after the government pledged an extra A$66.4bn to combat the impact of the disease. Several states have implemented strict measures to combat the outbreak, with Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia tightening domestic border controls, while the school term was cut short in Victoria. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said measures to contain the virus would be intensified, with all schools closed from today and non-essential services shut in the next 48 hours. Ardern said the country had a “unique window” to “break the chain of community transmission”. In the neighbouring Pacific islands, where experts fear under-developed healthcare facilities could easily be overwhelmed, a state of emergency was declared in Papua New Guinea after the country recorded its first case of the virus. Yesterday, the tiny island of Guam, a US territory in Micronesia, recorded the region’s first coronavirus fatality.

* New lockdown measures start at midday Monday * Some Australians have ignored social distancing rules * Listed companies exposed to the curbs request trading halts * After initial slow spread, COVID-19 cases are rising quickly Australians began living under strict new lockdown rules on Monday as coronavirus cases topped 1,600 and authorities denied entry to a cruise ship carrying hundreds on board complaining of respiratory illnesses. As new restrictions closing non-essential services came into effect, there were clear signs of economic and social stress with long queues forming outside offices of the main welfare agency across the country. After reporting only a gradual spread in January, the number of COVID-19 cases in Australia now appears to be tracking much sharper increases seen elsewhere, with the most populous states of New South Wales and Victoria recording the fastest rises. Most states have now closed their borders to travellers from other parts of the country and effected their own lockdown laws, in addition to the national curbs announced on Sunday. Western Australia on Monday banned passengers on board the Swiss-owned MSC Magnifica cruise ship from disembarking. Of 1,700 passengers on board the ship, more than 250 have complained of respiratory illnesses. It was due to dock at Fremantle port as early as Monday evening. That decision comes days after 2,700 passengers disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney harbour, with 48 on board subsequently testing positive for the virus. ‘I will not allow what happened in Sydney to happen here,’ West Australian Premier Mark McGowan said. ‘We will not allow passengers or crew to wander the streets.’ A spokesman for MSC Cruises did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 'TOUGHEST YEAR OF OUR LIVES' New measures designed to minimise the spread of the virus mean many non-essential services, including pubs, clubs, cinemas, gyms and houses of worship, were closed on Monday. ‘There will be no more going to the pub after work, no more going to the gym in the morning, and no more sitting down for brunch at a cafe,’ Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on Monday. Morrison said the immense health and economic challenges of the global pandemic would be the ‘toughest year of our lives’ and warned Australians to prepare for shutdowns that could last six months. Despite warnings to practice social distancing, thousands flocked to Sydney's Bondi Beach and frequented bars and restaurants over the weekend. Morrison said the new measures were needed to enforce social distancing, and more draconian measures could be enacted down the line. Supermarkets, pharmacies, freight and retail will continue to trade, while cafes and restaurants will only be able to offer takeaway and delivery services. The economic fallout of the crisis was visible on the streets on Monday with hundreds of Australians lining up outside government offices in Sydney and Melbourne to register for social security payments. Many tried to practice social distancing as lines stretched around the block. The website for government welfare services crashed on Monday, overwhelmed by an ‘unprecedented’ number of online queries. The benchmark index fell more than 4% on Monday, a day after the government pledged an extra A$66.4 billion ($38.06 billion) to combat the impact of the disease. The economic stimulus package was passed by Australia's lower house of parliament on Monday. It now just requires the approval of Australia's senate. Meanwhile, Rex Patrick, an independent senator, said he has been diagnosed with coronavirus, becoming the fourth federal lawmaker to become infected. Several states have implemented strict measures to combat the outbreak, with Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia tightening domestic border controls, while the school term was cut short in Victoria. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said measures to contain the virus would be intensified, with all schools closed from Tuesday and non-essential services shut in the next 48 hours. Ardern said the country had a ‘unique window’ to ‘break the chain of community transmission’. In the neighbouring Pacific islands, where experts fear under-developed healthcare facilities could easily be overwhelmed, a state of emergency was declared in Papua New Guinea after the country recorded its first case of the virus. On Monday, the tiny island of Guam, a US territory in Micronesia, recorded the region's first coronavirus fatality.