Australia will impose 14 days of self-isolation and will not allow international travelers to arrive in the country. The measure comes into effect from midnight today and also bans access to cruise ships coming from foreign ports for 30 days. Thus, the state repeats the restrictions imposed by New Zealand to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the new measures after meeting with a newly formed national cabinet called the “military cabinet” for the coronavirus.

Tight measures have been put in place to slow the spread of the global pandemic in Australia and help the state reach the “plateau” of the virus’s infection, added Scott Morrison at a news conference.

“To get ahead of the curve, we will impose a universal requirement for protective self-isolation for all international arrivals in Australia, and this will take effect from midnight tonight”, explained Scott Morrison. “In addition, the Australian Government will prohibit cruise ships from foreign ports from calling at Australian ships within 30 days”, added he.

The new restrictions were announced after Australia reported more than 250 cases of coronavirus-infected and three fatalities.

By mid-March, Covid-19 had infected 162,000 people globally and killed almost 6,000.

Australia has already banned travelers from Italy, South Korea, Iran, and China – countries with large numbers of infected. The ban means that foreign nationals who have been in some of the four countries will not be allowed in Australia until 14 days after leaving those countries.

Australian citizens living in the countries in question will be able to enter Australia but will need to self-isolate once they return to their homes.

Australia’s package of measures also includes a ban on gathering more than 500 people in one place, but this will still apply to schools and universities.

Today, Scott Morrison urged people to take a “social distance” – to stand at least a meter apart and not shake hands to reduce the spread of the infection.