Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has warned Australians will be facing COVID-19 for the long haul, saying we should expect “disruptive and intrusive” measures for at least six months.
“People who say we can lockdown the country for four weeks and send everyone home, close the schools, are not being realistic,” he told A Current Affair this evening. “At the end of those four weeks, you have to undo all that, and then the virus can break out in a more aggressive way.
“We are trying to get the community adjusted to the fact that this is a long haul,” he said, adding that Australians would have to “change the way we behave”.
He said forcing people to stay home was a “possibility in the future” in sections if a small part of the country experienced a “very significant” outbreak.
568 cases of coronavirus have now been confirmed across Australia, with 267 in New South Wales, 121 in Victoria, 94 in Queensland, 37 in South Australia, 35 in Western Australia, 10 in Tasmania, three in the ACT and one in the Northern Territory.
Live updates:
March 18, 2020
That's a wrap!
That concludes our COVID-19 blog for today.
Until tomorrow morning, here are some related stories worth reading:
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Australia must prepare for 'disruptive, intrusive measures'
Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has warned Australians will be facing COVID-19 for the long haul, saying we should expect “disruptive and intrusive” measures for at least six months.
"People who say we can lockdown the country for four weeks and send everyone home, close the schools, are not being realistic," he told A Current Affair this evening. “At the end of those four weeks, you have to undo all that, and then the virus can break out in a more aggressive way.
"We are trying to get the community adjusted to the fact that this is a long haul,” he said, adding that Australians would have to “change the way we behave”.
He said forcing people to stay home was a “possibility in the future” in sections if a small part of the country experienced a “very significant” outbreak.
He also reiterated Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s advice against travelling.
“Unless there are exceptional circumstances, do not travel,” he said. However, he said Australia would “never” close its borders to Australian citizens and permanent residents.
He also said Italy’s infection rate was based on community transmission, while ours are based on imported cases, concluding that we have a “very different situation”.
"We think that six months is a good estimate, a period we will need to introduce very strong social distancing measures,” he said.
He admitted while these measures are going to be “disruptive and intrusive… they will enable us to go on living".
Latest updates: Wednesday 18th March
GOLF: The PGA Championship, one of the sport’s four majors, has been postponed. The tournament was scheduled to take place at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California from 11th to 17th May.
HORSE RACING: All racing in Great Britain will be suspended from 18th March until the end of April. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) said the decision will be kept under 'constant review'.
CYCLING: The International Cycling Union (UCI) has postponed the Paris-Roubaix and Liege-Bastogne-Liege races, having initially suspended all events until 3rd April. Paris-Roubaix was set to take place on 12th April, with Liege-Bastogne-Liege two weeks later. The Fleche Wallonne, scheduled for 22nd April has also been cancelled. The Tour de Yorkshire has been postponed. The race had been scheduled from 30th April to 3rd May. Dates are being looked at for the event to be staged later on in the year.
BOXING: The all-English heavyweight bout between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce has been rescheduled from 11th April to 11th July at the same venue, London’s O2 Arena.
All boxing events are cancelled until at least the start of April by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).
BASKETBALL: The British Basketball League has suspended the 2019/20 season until further notice.
DIVING: The Fina Diving World Series finale, due to be staged at the London Aquatics Centre between 27th and 29th March, has been postponed.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has postponed the African Nations Championship, which had been set to take place from 4th to 25th April. The African Champions League final and Confederation Cup final, both due to kick off at the end of May, are still due to go ahead.
Explained: How do I self-isolate after landing in Australia?
From midnight anyone who entered Australia must self-isolate for 14 days. But what does that mean for you, amid the coronavirus outbreak?
Here's your guide to what you can and can't do, and what it means for your family or others you live with.
If you must self-isolate, then your wife or husband, family, kids or flatmates at home do not need to self-isolate.
But you should minimise or avoid any situations where you may have close contact with them. Close contact is any face-to-face contact closer than one metre for more than 15 minutes with people.
When you get home you are allowed to go into your backyard and garden. You can also access the common areas of your apartment or the hotel you are staying in.
However, and this very important, if it is an apartment or hotel then you must wear a surgical mask.
More updates will be available as it develops
