The death toll from COVID-19 in Italy has jumped past 300 and students at two Sydney high schools have been diagnosed with the disease, but there is hope the 14-day mandatory isolation period might soon be reduced.

Catch up on all of the day's coronavirus news you might have missed. You can also stay informed with today's episode of the Coronacast podcast.

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Monday's key moments:

Tokyo 2020 torch lighting to be staged without spectators

The Olympic torch, pictured during a rehearsal, will be lit in Greece before heading to Tokyo. ( Reuters: Issei Kato )

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch-lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia this week will be staged without spectators as organisers attempt to protect the event from the coronavirus, Greece's Olympic Committee said on Monday.

The Olympic torch will be lit in Olympia at a scaled-down ceremony on March 12 before a seven-day relay that will culminate with a handover ceremony in Greece on March 19.

The prefecture of Ilia, of which Olympia is part, is among the hardest hit by the coronavirus in Greece.

The Mayor of Olympia had written to International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, proposing the postponement of the ceremony until May.

"The danger of staging the torch lighting with only a handful of spectators, limited number of officials and delegations, and under a cloud of fear and concern will damage the greatness and prestige of this event," Olympia Mayor Giorgos Georgiopoulos said in his letter.

On Sunday, Greece announced a two-week ban on sporting events with spectators and on school field trips, as its number of coronavirus cases rose by seven to 73.

Students at two Sydney high schools diagnosed with coronavirus

St Patrick's Marist College in Sydney's west will be closed tomorrow. ( Supplied )

A boy and a girl in Year 10 at St Patrick's Marist College in Dundas, in Sydney's west, have been confirmed as having coronavirus.

So too has a Year 7 student at Willoughby Girls High School, in Sydney's North Shore.

Classes at both schools have been cancelled today and parents have been asked to pick up their children. Both schools will also be closed tomorrow.

The ABC understands up to 50 pupils may have had close contact with the two students who were infected at St Patrick's, and the relevant staff and students have been told to self-isolate.

The students are among six new coronavirus infections that NSW health authorities have confirmed, bringing the state's total number of cases to 46.

"I have no doubt that as it progresses there will be more transmission within the community," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

As of this morning, there were more than 80 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, including three deaths.

Three more cases confirmed in Victoria, two more in WA

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announced three more cases. ( ABC News: Ron Ekkel )

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says three new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the state.

One of them is a man in his 50s who was on the same flight from the US as Toorak GP Chris Higgins, who was diagnosed with the virus on Friday.

Ms Mikakos said it was not clear whether the man contracted the virus on the plane or afterwards.

He developed mild symptoms the day after the flight landed on February 29, and is now recovering at home in self-isolation.

Before his diagnosis, the man visited Wine by Sam in Seymour (on March 3, between 12:30pm and 3:30pm) and a private film screening at Cinema Nova in Carlton (on March 5, from 7:30pm to 10:30pm).

The other two people diagnosed with coronavirus in Victoria were recently in the US and Iran respectively.

The number of official COVID-19 cases in Victoria now stands at 15.

Meanwhile, health authorities said a woman in her 60s in Western Australia had been diagnosed after seemingly contracting the virus from her husband, who returned recently from Iran.

A man in his 40s is also in isolation in his home after testing positive, WA chief health officer Andy Robertson said, bringing the state's overall tally up to six.

The man is the son of a woman who recently travelled to Perth from Jakarta, and who is currently being treated for the virus in Victoria.

Third ADF member tests positive for coronavirus

A third member of the Australian Defence Force is in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus.

Efforts are underway to trace the ADF member's contacts after the diagnosis this morning.

The ADF member was stationed on a ship that was in port in Sydney, and was already being monitored after coming into contact with a civilian diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Two other ADF officers have already tested positive for COVID-19.

Is 14 days too long to be isolated?

Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy says researchers are working hard to reduce the length of the isolation period, which is currently 14 days.

"The [COVID-19] test result won't tell you if you're incubating the virus, unfortunately," Dr Murphy told ABC Melbourne.

"We are, and the whole world is looking at whether 14 days is too long a period.

"The virus incubation period is probably closer to a week rather than 14 days. The 14 days has margin for error in it.

"Most of the international community would like to see if we can safely reduce that period, because it is an awfully long time."

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy says 14 days in isolation may be longer than necessary. ( AAP: Ellen Smith )

Dr Murphy also said there was no test to retrospectively tell someone if they had coronavirus, but that one may be ready soon.

"There are a number of labs who are developing these antibody tests that will be able to look for antibodies. Westmead in Sydney have got a prototype test, I think Doherty Institute in Melbourne have one too," he said.

"There's not one that has been validated and widely used.

"We will have a test that will be able to do antibody assessments fairly soon, and that will be very important to actually detect how many have had this virus and not known it.

"We do know that a lot of people have a very, very mild disease and may not even notice it."

Worst day for Australian shares since GFC, as coronavirus causes panic

The Australian share market has suffered its worst one-day fall since the global financial crisis, with the ASX 200 plunging 7.3 per cent or 456 points to 5,760 at close with losses of almost $140 billion, amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus and an oil price war.

The Australia dollar also briefly dipped as low as 63 US cents, also the lowest it has been since the GFC, before recovering somewhat to close at 65.4 cents.

Oil prices plunged after OPEC failed to agree with Russia on production cuts and in response, Saudi Arabia slashed its official oil price.

The global share market correction, sparked by the widening economic impact of the coronavirus, is rapidly moving towards a bear market.

Britain announces team to tackle coronavirus 'disinformation'

Britain says it has set up a team to tackle "interference and disinformation" around the spread of coronavirus.

The country has so far confirmed 273 cases of the virus and three deaths. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency committee on Monday to discuss possible measures to try to delay the spread.

The Government said the counter-disinformation team would try to establish the extent and impact of false or manipulated information aimed at misleading people "either for the purposes of causing harm, or for political, personal or financial gain".

It will then aim to identify and respond to disinformation where necessary.

"Defending the country from misinformation and digital interference is a top priority," Digital and Culture Minister Oliver Dowden said in a statement.

In late January, ABC technology reporter Ariel Bogle looked at some of the coronavirus hoaxes running rampant on social media.





Italy overtakes South Korea as second-worst-hit country

The Governor of Lazio, which includes Rome, has tested positive to coronavirus. ( AP: Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse )

The total known number of COVID-19 cases in Italy has crept past that of South Korea, making it the country with the second-highest number of infections after China.

Italian government authorities say the country now has 7,375 cases. That is 62 more than South Korea, but far short of the coronavirus-epicentre China, which has more than 80,000 cases.

The death toll from coronavirus in Italy's northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of the nationwide contagion, has risen past 250, while the national toll has risen past 360.

The Governor of Puglia, the heel of Italy's boot, made an impassioned plea for people in the north not to travel south.

"I speak to you as if you were my children, my brothers, my nephews and nieces: stop and go back," Michele Emiliano said.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced restrictions on the movements of the approximately 16 million people in Lombardy, which is centred on the financial capital Milan.

Life for all Italians has been disrupted in some way, with schools shut, many church services banned, recreational activities cancelled and a number of the country's most famous tourist attractions closed or empty.

France bans gatherings of more than 1,000 people

A fan wears a face mask while watching a Scotland v France rugby game in Edinburgh on March 8. ( Reuters: Lee Smith )

The French Government has banned events of more than 1,000 people in a bit to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Health authorities have reported three new deaths, taking the country's death toll from the outbreak to 19, while the total number of confirmed cases has risen to 1,126.

"The priority is to do all we can to slow the transmission of the virus," Health Minister Olivier Veran said.

Protests, exams and public transport could be exempt from the ban on large gatherings.

ACTU says 3 million casual workers need access to paid leave

Unions are calling for the introduction of new measures to protect millions of casual workers from the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic.

Union leaders will meet the Government on Tuesday to plan for what will happen when workers self-isolate in a bid to slow down the spread of the virus.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said more than 3 million casual workers were particularly exposed.

"If your doctor is telling you to self-isolate I think from that point, all workers should have access to paid leave," she said.

"It's the right thing to do from a public health perspective as well as a justice perspective. If we don't have those measures people will make decisions to take the risk and to work if they need to do so to survive."

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said "tomorrow's roundtable will be another step forward in ensuring that we can maintain the cooperative workplaces".

Last week, the ABC spoke to a casual worker who told us what self-isolation would mean for them.

Federal Government expected to unveil its much-anticipated stimulus package within days

This morning, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg spoke to Sky News about what Australians could expect to see from an imminent stimulus package announcement, saying the focus would be on keeping people in jobs and keeping businesses in business.

"It has to be targeted, it has to be considered and responsible and it has to also be scalable because we don't know what the end date is for the spread of the coronavirus," he said.

Last week, Treasury secretary Stephen Kennedy said any stimulus package would come in two broad phases.

The first phase would provide targeted assistance to sectors directly affected by the fallout from the coronavirus — such as the services sector, tourism, and education — to keep businesses open and employees in jobs.

The second phase would be directed at households — to keep consumer confidence up and households spending.

Saudi Arabia locks down Qatif region, closes all schools

Large gatherings in the holy city of Mecca have been discouraged or outright banned. ( AP: Amr Nabil )

Saudi Arabia has imposed a temporary lockdown on the province of Qatif, and suspended all schools and universities nationwide, in response to the coronavirus crisis.

The country has also suspended travel to nine countries for its citizens and residents and suspended the entry of people from those countries or anyone who has been there in the past 14 days.

The nine affected countries are the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, South Korea, Egypt, Italy and Iraq. (Travel to Iran had already been banned.)

As well, all educational and Koranic activities in mosques in the country, the birthplace of Islam, have been suspended.

Saudi Arabia reported four new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of registered cases to 15.

Australia's state-by-state breakdown

Here are the numbers of cases that have been recorded in each state and territory:

NSW: 46

46 Queensland: 15

15 Victoria: 15

15 South Australia: 7

7 Western Australia: 6

6 Tasmania: 2

2 Northern Territory: 1

1 ACT: 0