Good morning, this is James Murray bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 25 March.

Coronavirus

From midnight tonight large sections of Australiawill be shut down to curtail the spread of Covid-19. Last night’s meeting of the national cabinet agreed to further restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings and a ban on non-essential overseas travel. Scott Morrison stopped short of a complete lockdown, saying he would not “just rush on the sense of an opinion of inevitability” because he was hopeful the virus could be contained, and stricter measures would threaten the livelihoods of many Australians. If you’re not sure what life will be like from tomorrow, here’s a full list of everything that is closed, open or restricted and, if you’re worried about how your business or household will lose financially, this is what you are able to claim in the government’s survival package.

Businesses that refuse to offer refunds due to the coronavirus crisis, or continue to charge for shutdown services, will come under the scrutiny of a special taskforce set up by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Meanwhile, cases of Covid-19 linked to the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which was allowed to disembark in Sydney, could “double, or triple” in the next few days, according to an expert. This means hundreds of people on the ship may have had the disease on the day it docked. There are now more than 2,000 cases in Australia and there have been eight deaths. If you think you may have coronavirus and you live in Australia, this is what you should do.

The Tokyo Olympics has been postponed until 2021. “We agreed that a postponement would be the best way to ensure that the athletes are in peak condition when they compete and to guarantee the safety of the spectators,” said Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe. The news comes as the disease continues to ravage Europe, with Spain recording more than 500 cases in a day. The latest figures revealed that healthcare workers account for more than 13% of the country’s 39,673 patients. In Britain, police chiefs have said coronavirus could “bring out the worst in humanity” after the theft of oxygen canisters from a hospital, the puncturing of ambulance tyres and the raiding of food banks by thieves. The death toll there is now 422 after 88 people died overnight, with relatives of dying patients being forced to say their final goodbyes by videolink. And, as global cases of Covid-19 exceed 400,000, India announced a 21-day lockdown.

In the US, Donald Trump is hopeful the country can reopen in less than a month, despite the WHO warning that it may become the new centre of the pandemic. “We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US,” said Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman. New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, said cases were rising faster than expected. “It is spiking,” he told reporters at a temporary hospital in New York city. “The apex is higher than we thought, and the apex is sooner than we thought. That is a bad combination of facts.” In Arizona, a man has died after taking a fake “cure” for coronavirus touted by Trump. And Wall Street has rallied amid stimulus hopes as stock markets around the made record gains on Tuesday.

Australia

The former resources minister Matt Canavan billed taxpayers for a $5,390 charter flight to travel 150km to attend the opening of a coalmine. He made the journey to deliver a speech attacking “self-indulgent” environmental activists.

The competition regulator Rod Sims has sought to mediate the dispute between Qantas and Virgin Australia during the coronavirus crisis. Sims says Qantas needs to end its public campaign against Virgin as Australia needs two major airlines.

The United Workers’ Union has agreed to cut minimum-hour agreements and change rules regarding job classifications. The union reached the compromise with the Australian Hotels Association in a bid to save jobs.

The world

Greta Thunberg believes she has contracted Covid-19. The activist has self-isolated and warned young people to take the outbreak seriously.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Albert Uderzo with Asterix in Paris in 1985. Photograph: Olivier Boitet/AP

The Asterix illustrator, Albert Uderzo, has died at the age of 92, his family has announced. More than 370m Asterix albums have been sold worldwide.

A new study shows that a higher daily step count can lower the risk of an early death. It seems individuals don’t have to hit the arbitrary 10,000 a day limit; any extra activity showed a benefit.

Woody Allen has written in his newly published memoir that he would welcome back his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow “with open arms”. Allen was accused of sexually assaulting Farrow in 1992 but denies the accusation.

Recommended reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Social isolation, in these times when reality sometimes feels too resonant of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, will bring particular anxieties.’ Photograph: Josep Curto/Alamy

Paul Daley writes that we will face a mental health pandemic as the Covid-19 outbreak widens. “That is the pandemic of severe depression and anxiety that will sweep over the world as the unemployment rate pushes into previously unseen digits, families who’d prefer to be socially distant are thrust together and young people are denied the certainty and structure of school.” Marina Hyde explores the idea of Boris Johnson failing to live up to his idol Winston Churchill. The Guardian’s global environment editor, Jonathan Watts, examines the deadly delayed responses to Covid-19 favoured by rightwing governments. And Cas Mudde explains how “wartime” coronavirus powers could irreparably damage our democracy.

Laura Capelle goes backstage with the French star Isabelle Huppert to talk about theatre and #MeToo. In a candid interview which takes in Huppert’s views on gender inequality, her reaction to Harvey Weinstein’s conviction, and the strange feeling of acting in a second language, the actor describes theatre as being more demanding of actors than cinema: “Theatre is really like climbing a very painful mountain. Of course, once you reach the summit, the view is beautiful. By comparison, cinema is just a nice, effortless stroll.”

Five Australian chefs share their back of the pantry recipes. From Kylie Kwong’s fried rice to Matt Moran’s risoni chicken soup, using up the ingredients that have been hiding in your larder doesn’t have to be dull.

Listen

Today’s Guardian Australia Full Story podcast looks at how the country’s welfare system changed overnight. With unemployment expected to rise sharply, many Australians will be claiming government assistance. Luke Henriques-Gomes looks at whether the welfare system will be able to cope with the demand.

Full Story: coronavirus updates How coronavirus changed Australia’s welfare system overnight Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2020/03/24-40732-FS_cv19_welfare.mp3 00:00:00 00:22:23

Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.

Sport

Australian sport is bracing for widespread cuts. The AFL and its 18 clubs have had to slash staff numbers by roughly 80% and players have offered to take a 50% pay cut.

Nick Tedeschi writes that the NRL could go out of business. The league is on a precipice, despite record broadcast deals and the promise to set up a future fund.

Media roundup

News websites are understandably dominated by the shutdown announced by the Morrison government overnight. The Australian laments a barbecue ban as it lists the new restrictions on people’s social and economic lives. The Sydney Morning Herald reports on the restrictions on numbers at weddings and funerals Scott Morrison described as “heartbreaking”. The Australian Financial Review looks at whether the government can use data to combat the virus, reporting that the government is considering using a tracking app effective in Singapore. And ABC News has a story saying Morrison and the teaching unions are to thrash out a deal about school closures.

Coming up

Inquest findings into the death of a three-year-old boy while he was being transported to a Sydney hospital, will be handed down.

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