Australia's tourism industry has been dealt another crushing blow with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg warning non-residents could be banned from the country for six months - 'maybe longer'.

The drastic move to shut Australia's borders from 9pm on Friday came as local cases surged to over 700, with about 80 per cent of those coming in from overseas.

Only Australian permanent residents and citizens will be allowed to enter the country after Friday's deadline.

Mr Frydenberg could not confirm how long the ban would be in place, but suggested the borders would be shut for 'six months or more'.

The restrictions would only be lifted once it is 'safe to do so' or when there is a vaccine for COVID-19, he told ABC Radio on Thursday night.

Speaking to Patricia Karvelas on Thursday afternoon, Mr Frydenberg said it would be 'very hard to avoid' a recession and a lot of people would likely lose their jobs.

From 9pm on Friday night, only Australian residents and citizens will be allowed to enter. Pictured: Scott Morrison (right) and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg today

The treasurer said the coronavirus crisis was keeping him up at night.

'To be honest I don't sleep at night,' he told Karvelas.

'I am up at night worrying about my kids. They are going to school, as they should, and I want them to continue to do so.

'And like every listener, I'm worried about the state of the economy, about people's health. I'm particularly worried about family members and friends who may be older, and about those with particular vulnerabilities.'

Bur Mr Frydenberg said 'it's not about me', adding that he has a responsibility to look after the Australian community.

'These are unprecedented times but I know that I can't lose my head, because as the Treasurer of Australia I have a responsibility to help steer the economy through,' he said.

'It's about all 25million Australians pulling together at this difficult time to look after us, and to not whack each other in the mouth at the local supermarket.

'It's about letting them get through their mortgage payments and keep them in a job where it's possible to do so. We all need to hang together at this time.'

AUSTRALIA CLOSES ITS BORDERS - SCOTT MORRISON'S FULL STATEMENT Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced tough new border restrictions coming into effect at 9pm on Friday March 20: 'Australia is closing its borders to all non-citizens and non-residents. The entry ban takes effect from 9pm Friday, 20 March 2020, with exemptions only for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family, including spouses, legal guardians and dependents. New Zealand citizens who live in Australia as Australian residents are also exempt, as are New Zealanders transiting to New Zealand. Exemptions for Pacific Islanders transiting to their home countries will continue to apply. Australian citizens and permanent residents and those exempt from our entry restrictions will continue to be subject to a strict 14 days self-isolation. Our number one priority is to slow the spread of coronavirus to save lives. Our government has taken this unprecedented step because around 80 per cent of coronavirus cases in Australia are people who caught the virus overseas before entering Australia, or people who have had a direct contact with someone who has returned from overseas. Our previous travel and entry restrictions have already meant that daily travel to Australia by non-citizens has been reduced to about one third of what it was this time last year. We also strongly urge Australians looking to return home to do so as soon as possible. This follows our upgraded travel advice for all Australians not to travel overseas, at all. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will provide consular advice and assistance, but the capacity for DFAT to provide consular services may be limited by local restrictions on movement, as well as the full scale of the challenges posed by coronavirus. Australians who cannot, or do not want to, return home should follow the advice of local authorities and minimise their risk of coronavirus exposure by self-isolating. The government is in discussions with airlines about the continuance of some international flights for the purpose of bringing Australians home and continuing the movement of goods and freight. These challenges vary and the situation is changing rapidly. Our government will continue to act on the best available information to keep Australians safe.' Advertisement

There were more than 700 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia by Thursday afternoon

The ban is likely to cause chaos for thousands of temporary residents who live and work in Australia, such as people on skilled work visas.

The ban does not apply to direct family members of permanent residents and citizens.

Announcing the ban, the Prime Minister said: 'We will be resolving to move to a position where a travel ban will be placed on all non-residents, non-Australian citizens coming to Australia, and that will be in place from 9pm tomorrow evening.

'For Australians, of course, they will be able to return and they will be subject, as they already are, to 14 days of isolation upon arrival back in Australia.'

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 26,898 Victoria: 20,042 New South Wales: 4,200 Queensland: 1,152 Western Australia: 662 South Australia: 466 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 26,898 CURRENT ACTIVE CASES: 903 DEATHS: 849 Updated: 8.50 PM, 20 September, 2020 Advertisement

Explaining the move, the Prime Minister said: 'About 80 per cent of the cases we have in Australia are someone who has contracted the virus overseas or someone who has had direct contact with someone who has returned from overseas.

'So, the overwhelming proportion of cases in Australia have been imported.'

Mr Morrison said the world-wide travel ban was an extension of existing bans on people coming from Italy, South Korea, Iran and China.

'Measures we have put in place have obviously put an impact on that and this is a further measure now that that can be further enhanced,' he said.

New Zealand has made the same move, also shutting the border to non-residents.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden urged more than 600,000 New Zealanders living in Australia not to go home because that may increase the spread of the virus.

Ms Ardern and Mr Morrison consulted each other before agreeing to shut the borders.

After Virgin Australia cancelled all international flights, Mr Morrison said national carrier Qantas would continue to repatriate Australians.

'I want to thank Qantas also, who are offering to work with us to make sure they maintain flights from particular parts of the world that can assist Australians to return to Australia and we will be working closely with them, and those Australians who are overseas, we have been encouraging them to return to Australia.

A Qantas employee attends to customers at the check in area at Sydney International Airport on Thursday

Passengers wait to check-in at the departures hall at the international airport in Sydney on March 18

'Those in remote parts of the world, that can prove challenging but for those in other places, it is our intention to ensure we can maintain flights to enable them to come home as soon as possible.'

Mr Morrison also slammed food hoarders for the second time in two days.

'I also want to say to Australians that there are no issues with Australians' food supply. What there is an issue with is the behaviour of Australians at supermarkets.

'Frankly there are some Australians not giving Australia a very good name at the moment with their behaviour.

'I understand they're anxious. But for the next six months we need to work together,' he said.

New Zealand shuts the border New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has closed the country's borders to all but residents and citizens to stop the spread of coronavirus. 'We need to continue to make further decisions and further restrictions,' she said during the announcement on Thursday. The ban will be in place for planes landing in New Zealand after 11.59pm on Thursday. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) has closed the country's borders to all but residents and citizens to stop the spread of coronavirus She said the more than 600,000 New Zealanders living in Australia should stay and not travel. 'While we do not have community transmission, it is in Australia. It is in everyone's interest that they stay put,' she said. Ms Ardern said all cases of coronavirus in the country had come from overseas, and had not been transmitted between people in New Zealand. Only New Zealand citizens and permanent residents - and their children and partners - will be able to enter the country. Ms Ardern said there will be exemptions for specific people including health professionals. 'I'm not willing to have risks here and that's why we're making this decision,' she said. There are 28 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New Zealand. Advertisement

Interest rates cut to a record low of 0.25% as the Australian dollar plummets to lowest in 17 YEARS amid coronavirus panic

By Stephen Johnson for Daily Mail Australia

The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates to a new record low of 0.25 per cent as the Australian dollar sank close to 55 US cents for the first time in more than 17 years.

For the first time ever, the central bank has explicitly signalled it will buy government bonds to inject liquidity into the financial system under a radical policy known as quantitative easing.

It is also providing $90billion worth of credit to banks so they lend to small and medium-sized businesses during the coronavirus crisis.

The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates to a new record low of 0.25 per cent as the Australian dollar sank close to 55 US cents for the first time in more than 17 years. For the first time ever, the central bank has explicitly signalled it will buy government bonds to inject liquidity into the financial system under a radical policy known as quantitative easing

In an uncharacteristic move for a central bank governor, Philip Lowe fronted the media at 4.30pm, Sydney time, after financial markets had closed and delivered an address for the TV cameras on the COVID-19 crisis.

'We are clearly living in extraordinary and challenging times,' Dr Lowe said.

'The coronavirus is first and foremost a very major public health problem.

'But it has also become a major economic problem, which is having deep ramifications for financial systems around the world.

'Understandably, our communities and our financial markets are both having trouble dealing with a rapidly unfolding situation that they have not seen before.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hailed the RBA's unprecedented measures to 'support Australian jobs and support Australian businesses'.

'Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,' he told reporters in Canberra.

'We are doing what we can to lower the cost of credit.'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also confirmed the government was working with the banks so they don't repossess the homes of borrowers who lost their jobs.

'That's exactly the sort of thing we're working on,' he said.

In an uncharacteristic move for a central bank governor, Philip Lowe fronted the media at 4.30pm, Sydney time, after financial markets had closed and delivered an address for the TV cameras on the COVID-19 crisis. 'We are clearly living in extraordinary and challenging times,' Dr Lowe said.

The RBA had already reduced the cash rate to 0.5 per cent at its regular meeting this month in a bid to stimulate the economy, as the global COVID-19 pandemic threatens to spark the first recession in 29 years.

The central bank met again just two weeks later on Thursday, outside of its usual meeting on the first Tuesday of every month, to announce the cash rate would be cut by another quarter of a percentage point.

Dr Lowe acknowledged coronavirus was a threat to the economy.

'The coronavirus is first and foremost a public health issue, but it is also having a very major impact on the economy and the financial system,' he said in a statement on Thursday announcing the rate cut.

A cash rate of 0.25 per cent means Australia's official interest rate is just one cut away from being at zero.

The Australian dollar bounced on the announcement, jumping from a near 18-year low 55.41 US cents to 55.57 US cents by 2.32pm Sydney time, or two minutes after the RBA announcement.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe acknowledged coronavirus was a threat to the economy

While interest rate cuts usually boost the housing market, real estate data group CoreLogic said the coronavirus outbreak was likely to discourage people from buying a home.

'The current situation of extreme uncertainty and economic fragility makes it difficult to expect housing market activity to lift against the historically low cost of debt,' it said.

'As the coronavirus pandemic broadens, and the probability of an Australian recession increases, consumer confidence is trending lower from an already weak position.

'This will likely weigh on high commitment consumer spending decisions, such as buying or selling a home.'

Interest rates have been cut three days after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut its equivalent cash rate by a more dramatic 75 basis points to 0.25 per cent.

The US Federal Reserve this week also slashed its target federal funds rate by a full basis point to zero to 0.25 per cent.

Digital Finance Analytics principal Martin North said quantitative easing, while designed to encourage lending, would do little to stimulate demand as indoor groups of 100 or more people are banned in Australia.

'It may not be the right tool,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

'Quantitative easing is about supporting the financial system, it's trying to put liquidity into the system but the real economy isn't working and we're trying to address the wrong problem.'

While a weaker Australian dollar makes Australian exports cheaper overseas, it also makes imports like electronics more expensive.

Mr North, an economist, said there was a danger of a weaker Australian dollar making imported components for production more expensive.

He feared an increase in imported fertiliser prices could make food more expensive and spark a surge in inflation.

'Any raw materials that we bring into the country, for example fertilisers, they're going to be a lot more expensive,' Mr North said.

'The cost of that is going to be a lot higher, it's going to have a series of knock-on effects. So the cost on the economy is dramatic.'