Australians will face up to six months of restrictions on their everyday lives - the likes of which have not been seen since World War 2 - as the country hunkers down to battle the coronavirus.

Stringent limits on where you can go, when you can leave your home and which events you can attend were being introduced as the country suffered its sixth fatality from Covid-19.

Australians were warned to expect at least six months of disruption: indoor gatherings of more than 100 people are banned, many public services and buildings have shut, most office staff are being told to work from home, and families are being urged to stay away from elderly relatives.

Those were just the official measures.

As Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the nation about new restrictions, Australians were already making their own changes to routine, with gyms and train stations eerily empty as the public practiced 'safe distancing'.

Patrons have a drink in a near empty pub in Melbourne's CBD on Wednesday (pictured), as the government effectively banned more than 100 people being in the same room

The Fitness First in Sydney's Clarence Street, usually full of people working out on their lunch breaks, which completely empty on Wednesday (pictured)

Usually bustling with excited families, Dreamworld on the Gold Coast looked like a ghost town on Tuesday (pictured)

Pictures showed usually busy gyms with no customers on Wednesday lunchtime, with even theme parks across the Gold Coast were near empty.

Theatres, including all performances at the Sydney Opera House, were putting all productions on hold indefinitely - with some unlikely to reopen for months.

The award-winning Harry Potter the Cursed Child play at Melbourne's celebrated Princess Theatre suspended performances.

On the Gold Coast, Dreamworld and WhiteWater World are staying open for the time being, but were already quiet on Wednesday as families stayed home as health authorities said the greatest threat of spreading the illness remained people returning or visiting from overseas.

St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney (pictured, right) is having to turn away tourists to ensure worshipers can attend. Staff are even counting the number of patrons (left)

Newly-made signs at St Mary's Catherdral warn visitors on Wednesday that only 100 people - including staff, ministers and clergy, can enter (pictured)

At St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, staff were seen holding clickers to count visitors as they went in - ensuring no more than 100 people were in the place of worship at any given time.

Tourists were turned away, while people hoping to attend mass were counted at the door.

‘We’re asking people to spread out because of the coronavirus,’ a worker at the church said.

‘Because of the new laws we can only have 100 people inside, including the clergy and staff.’

Health officials have said that 'social distancing' is the best way to fight the killer virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Sydney's usually bustling harbour was empty on Wednesday (pictured) after Scott Morrison banned all mass gatherings to combat the coronavirus

The usually standing-room-only Wollstonecraft to Wynyard train was nearly empty at 7.50am on Wednesday morning (pictured)

The closures and cutbacks were likely to leave Australians without any access to concerts, museums or other cultural events for months.

With the number of confirmed cases of the disease growing exponentially, Mr Morrison also strongly advised against all overseas travel while stopping short of banning it outright.

So Australians' standard winter holidays skiing in New Zealand or getting a warm break in Bali will have to be foregone in 2020.

In a speech on Wednesday morning, Mr Morrison warned Australia 'won't look like it normally does' for some time.

Supermarkets, such as this one in Sydney's Marrickville on Tuesday (pictured), will be left open - but are already struggling to cope with stock-piling shoppers

At lunchtime on Wednesday, Damien Smith took this picture of a usually busy road in Lidcombe (pictured) almost empty, as thousands of Australians opt to stay at home

An almost deserted George Street in Sydney's CBD (pictured) is seen at 9am on Wednesday morning

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 26,651 Victoria: 19,835 New South Wales: 4,166 Queensland: 1,149 Western Australia: 659 South Australia: 466 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 26,651 CURRENT ACTIVE CASES: 1,340 DEATHS: 810 Updated: 9.56 PM, 13 September, 2020 Advertisement

'We are looking at a situation of at least six months for how we deal with this. It could be much longer than that,' he said.

While there will be significant changes to Australians' lives, the restrictions will not go as far as countries like France, Spain and Italy where people are prohibited from leaving their homes unless making an essential journey for food or medical help and supplies.

State schools will remain open, with medical advice to government being that children were the least likely group to suffer severe illness due to the virus and the cost of parents having to stay home to look after them was too severe.

'We are going to keep Australia running. We are going to keep Australia functioning,' he said.

'Life is changing in Australia, as it is changing all around the world. Life is going to continue to change as we deal with the global coronavirus,' he said.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said a total lockdown would not help.

The usually busy Flinders Street train station in Melbourne (pictured on Wednesday) has also seen a huge decline in passengers

'A short-term two-to-four week shut down of society is not recommended by any of our experts. It does not achieve anything. We have to be in this for the long haul,' he said.

The sweeping changes to Australian society come as officials announced that a 86-year-old man died overnight in hospital in New South Wales - the fifth person to die from the virus in the state.

A NSW Health spokesperson said the organisation's 'condolences are with his family and friends at this time'.

An extra 57 cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed since 11am on Monday.

The man's death comes after a Queensland woman from Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast died after arriving in Sydney last Friday.

Cases of coronavirus soared on Wednesday

Gyms in Sydney's CBD stood empty on Wednesday (pictured) and are usually bustling at lunchtime. Thousands of workers are already staying at home, with more likely to follow

Empty tables are seen at bars outside the Sydney Opera House (pictured) on Tuesday, with such venues now likely to close entirely

A 90-year-old woman - a resident of Sydney's Dorothy Henderson Lodge who was confirmed to have COVID-19 - also died on Saturday.

On March 1, a 78-year-old man from Western Australia died in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after contracting the virus.

He was among 163 Australians evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

On March 4, a 95-year-old woman died at a Sydney hospital after developing a respiratory illness from the coronavirus, bringing the death toll to two.

Then on March 8, an 82-year-old man died after contracting the coronavirus from an infected aged care worker at BaptistCare's Dorothy Henderson Lodge in his Sydney.

Usually full of tourists coming to admire street art, Melbourne's Hosier Lane sat empty on Wednesday afternoon (pictured)

A long couple enjoy the sun in Melbourne's Federation Square (pictured) on Wednesday afternoon, usually a bustling area full of tourists and workers alike

As of Wednesday evening, a total of 565 Australians have been infected by coronavirus since the deadly virus began to spread in January.

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the sudden jump in coronavirus cases comes after 'high rates of testing' was conducted.

'That is a very pleasing thing from my perspective because it means we are able to detect cases in the community, identify those contacts and obviously contain them and self-isolate them because we know we are seeing a number of cases in the contacts of cases,' she told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

'We are also tracking down links and chains of transmission, to block any further community transition.

The Sydney Opera House (pictured virtually empty on Tuesday) will also be forced to close under drastic new coronavirus measures

What gatherings are allowed? Public transport (including stations, platforms, stops, trains, trams, buses) Medical and health service facilities Emergency service facilities Disability or aged care facilities Correctional facilities, youth justice centres or other places of custody, courts or tribunals Food markets, supermarkets, grocery stores, retail stores, shopping centres (if gatherings of that size are necessary for operations) Office buildings, factories, construction sites, mining sites (if necessary for their normal operation) Schools, universities, education facilities and child care facilities Hotels and motels and other accommodation facilities which includes things like mining camps Public places like Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall and Federation Square, and Sydney's Martin Place Parliaments Airports Advertisement

A woman is seen crossing the road wearing a face mask in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday (pictured) as the country enters lockdown

WILL ALL PUBS CLOSE? The Australian government has effectively banned all indoor places where 100 people or more gather. This is likely to include most pubs and bars, but they could choose to stay open - as long as they guarantee no more than 100 people, including all staff, would be on the premises. Outdoor bars could also potentially stay open, as the 100 people rule applies only to 'a single enclosed area that is substantially closed by a roof or walls'. But if pubs do choose to stay open, they are unlikely to make enough money to pay the staff required to keep it open. Not only it is likely punters will stay home, those that do come out may not spend enough to cover staff wages. Advertisement

For place with less than 100 people, Australians are still being asked to practice 'social distancing' - meaning they should stay 1.5m away from other people.

Small venues also need to ensure hand hygiene products and suitable waste disposal is in place, as well as frequent cleaning.

The Australian Hotels Association said the new restrictions will have a 'devastating' impact on pubs, and said it is working close with the federal and state governments.

It represents around 5,000 Australian pubs.

CEO Stephen Ferguson said: 'Obviously we will be following the instructions of the Government and medical experts to the letter – the number one priority is saving lives and stopping people becoming ill.

'But there’s no doubt this ban on more than 100 people gathering in venues will have a devastating impact on our workforce of more than 250,000 and will also impact our millions of patrons across Australia.

'Pubs are a vital part of society and will be key component in Australia’s employment and social recovery once we get through this difficult time.'

View of a nearly deserted Bourke Street, a shopping district in Melbourne, on Wednesday afternoon (pictured)