coronavirus,

Canberra and the rest of the nation are about to go into shutdown. While schools remain open today, they will go pupil free from tomorrow to prepare for online learning. It's a phrase thrown around a lot lately, but Australia is in unprecedented territory. We'll bring you the latest developments here in this live blog (lower in this article) through the day as governments explain more details of how the shut down will work and what are essential services. Australia's clubs, pubs and restaurants have been ordered to close from midday. Churches, casinos, cinemas, gyms, indoor spots venues and entertainment venues must also close, along with the licensed parts of hotels, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced last night after a meeting of state, territory and federal leaders. Restaurants and cafes can still serve takeaway and do home delivery, but sit-down meals are banned. Shops and shopping centres remain open. Funerals are allowed, if the four square metre rule for indoor gatherings is adhered to. Earlier, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said all non-essential services would be closed, following closely on a similar announcement by the NSW Premier. READ MORE: We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible.If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here. The blog sometimes takes a moment to appear, but will show up here.

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