Scott Morrison has announced further restrictions on businesses and gatherings, Australia's tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases has passed 2,000, and Donald Trump has hit out at Democrats on Twitter.

This story is being updated regularly throughout the day. You can also stay informed with the latest episode of the Coronacast podcast.

Tuesday's key moments

Government extends restrictions, bans overseas travel

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 6 minutes 28 seconds 6 m Scott Morrison unveils latest physical distancing measures

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced further restrictions on businesses, public gatherings and overseas travel in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus following his meeting with the national cabinet tonight.

From midnight tomorrow night these activities and businesses will no longer be allowed to continue:

Amusement parks and arcades

Amusement parks and arcades Indoor and outdoor play centres

Indoor and outdoor play centres Community and recreation centres, health clubs, fitness centres, yoga, barre, spin facilities, saunas, wellness centres

Community and recreation centres, health clubs, fitness centres, yoga, barre, spin facilities, saunas, wellness centres Swimming pools

Swimming pools Galleries, museums, national institutions, historic sites, libraries, community centres

Galleries, museums, national institutions, historic sites, libraries, community centres Auction houses

Auction houses Real estate auctions and open house inspections

Real estate auctions and open house inspections In-store beauty therapy, tanning, waxing, nail salons and tattoo parlours, spa and massage parlours (excluding health-related services, like physiotherapy)

In-store beauty therapy, tanning, waxing, nail salons and tattoo parlours, spa and massage parlours (excluding health-related services, like physiotherapy) Food courts within shopping centres will only be able to sell takeaway. Shopping centres themselves will remain open

Mr Morrison also addressed specifics around a number of other activities:

Hairdressers and barber shops can continue, but they must limit the time a customer is in the premise to no more than 30 minutes

Hairdressers and barber shops can continue, but they must limit the time a customer is in the premise to no more than 30 minutes Personal training and boot camps are limited to a maximum of 10 people

Personal training and boot camps are limited to a maximum of 10 people Weddings can continue, but only with the couple, the celebrant, and witnesses — totalling a maximum of five people

Weddings can continue, but only with the couple, the celebrant, and witnesses — totalling a maximum of five people Funerals are limited to a maximum of 10 people

Funerals are limited to a maximum of 10 people Outdoor and indoor food markets will be addressed by individual states and territories

The Prime Minister also announced Australians would be banned from travelling overseas, with some exceptions made for aid workers and for compassionate, employment and other essential travel.

He also said the advice on schools had not changed and it was safe to send children to school.

On a broader note, Mr Morrison said people should not go out and "participate more broadly in the community, unless you're shopping for basics or there are medical needs or you're providing care and support to an individual at another place."

More than 200 Australians stranded on cruise ship

Simone Jacques, who is on the Costa Victoria with her husband Brett, says she's "absolutely terrified". ( Supplied )

More than 200 Australians are stranded on an Italian-bound cruise ship that has just recorded its first case of coronavirus.

Passengers on the Costa Victoria have been ordered to stay in their rooms as the ship sails towards Venice, where it was due to dock this weekend.

"We're terrified, we're absolutely terrified. It's obviously very stressful, we just don't know what's going on," passenger Simone Jacques from Victoria said.

Mrs Jacques and her husband Brett joined the cruise in late February.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 5 seconds 1 m 5 s Simone and Brett Jacques say they are receiving no information about what is happening.

They said the captain had been either unwilling or unable to dock anywhere for the past fortnight due to the closure of European ports in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Jobseekers obligations suspended

A line outside a Sydney Centrelink office early on Tuesday morning. ( ABC News: Housnia Shams )

The Federal Government has temporarily suspended the obligations normally placed on Jobseekers as Centrelink struggles to cope.

The Government says there have been 3.2 million logins to the MyGov website over the past 20 hours amid mass job losses caused by coronavirus.

Jobseekers usually have to report activities like their attendance at job interviews, but Social Services Minister Anne Ruston says that requirement will be lifted for at least a week.

NSW HSC to go ahead, Adelaide student and teacher test positive

The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) has announced this year's HSC certification will go ahead.

A committee is making arrangements in light of students being told to stay home.

Year 12 students have been given the following message from NESA board chair Peter Shergold:

We know you are worried. While we recognise we are facing an unprecedented situation, we want to assure you that you will be able to get a HSC certificate this year, and that the certificate will facilitate access to university, further education and employment, as it has for students over the past 50 years.

We know you are worried. While we recognise we are facing an unprecedented situation, we want to assure you that you will be able to get a HSC certificate this year, and that the certificate will facilitate access to university, further education and employment, as it has for students over the past 50 years. Keep learning, do your assessments as advised by your school, make progress on your major projects where you can and, most importantly, look after yourself, whether you are at school or at home. Reach out to family, friends and your teachers if you need to.

Keep learning, do your assessments as advised by your school, make progress on your major projects where you can and, most importantly, look after yourself, whether you are at school or at home. Reach out to family, friends and your teachers if you need to. If you get sick, your school and NESA have provisions to ensure you are not disadvantaged.

The announcement came as eight staff members and 110 students at Unley High School in Adelaide went into self-isolation after a student and teacher tested positive to COVID-19 last week.

This latest move follows contact tracing of both people.

Unley High School has also announced it will be moving to online-only services from tomorrow for the rest of the term.

Federal Government will use direct text messaging for coronavirus information

Health Minister Greg Hunt says "direct text messaging" will be used as part of the next phase of Australia's coronavirus information campaign.

These were some of his other announcements this morning:

Australia is looking to have a whole-of-population telehealth capacity by March 30, which will include mental health, allied health and general practice

Australia is looking to have a whole-of-population telehealth capacity by March 30, which will include mental health, allied health and general practice An additional 30 million masks will be in Australia within the next two weeks

An additional 30 million masks will be in Australia within the next two weeks An additional 160,000 tests are now available

Mr Hunt said approximately 147,000 coronavirus pathology tests have been carried out in Australia, equating to more than 0.5 per cent of the population.

"This is, on the advice I have, higher than even [South] Korea, which has done a magnificent job with their testing on a per capita basis," he said.

Approximately 1.2 per cent of tests have been positive.

Trump lashes out as US death toll passes 550

US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Democrats on Twitter as the death toll in America from COVID-19 surged by more than 100 on Monday (local time).

Coronavirus has now killed more than 550 people in the United States and sickened more than 43,800.

Governors in at least 18 states, accounting for nearly half the population, have issued directives requiring residents to stay mostly indoors, except for necessary trips to grocery stores, pharmacies, petrol stations and doctors' offices.

"Non-essential" businesses have also been ordered closed.

Wall Street has been hit hard by the pandemic. ( AP: Mark Lennihan )

Politicians have been trying to strike a deal on a far-reaching economic stimulus package that had stalled in the Senate.

Lead negotiators on the bipartisan, $US2 trillion ($AU3.4 trillion) stimulus measures said they were confident of reaching a deal soon.

Democrats have said the stimulus plan originally proposed by Republicans contained too little money for states and hospitals and not enough restrictions on a fund to help big businesses.

President Trump lashed out on Twitter, accusing Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi of taking an "extended vacation" and then making demands he would never agree to.

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"The Democrats want the virus to win?" Mr Trump said in the Twitter post.

"They are asking for things that have nothing to do with our great workers or companies."

Democrats have insisted any agreement must include more oversight provisions for a $US500 billion fund for large businesses, to avoid giving corporate leaders a blank cheque.

Asked about that, Mr Trump told reporters: "I'll be the oversight."

Problems for mobile and fixed phone services

Some Telstra and Optus mobile and fixed-phone services are experiencing problems as a result of increased demand in the wake of the coronavirus shutdowns.

Telstra says mobile call volumes are up by more than 50 per cent, driven in part by a surge in people ringing government services.

Optus says congestion on the Telstra network is causing intermittent errors for its customers who try to connect with Telstra network users.

Both Telcos are working to fast-track upgrades to the system so they can resolve the issues.

NSW prisoners could be freed in bid to halt virus spread

Any prisoners released would face strict parole conditions. ( ABC News: Alkira Reinfrank )

Some of the NSW's 14,000 prisoners could be released as the State Government steps up its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin would be allowed to grant parole to certain inmates due to the threat of COVID-19 under proposed laws to be considered by Parliament.

The extraordinary powers would apply to low-risk and vulnerable prisoners, who would be subject to strict parole conditions, including:

Home detention

Home detention Electronic monitoring

Electronic monitoring Pre-arranged schedule of movements

Attorney-General Mark Speakman said the move was designed to protect the health of inmates and staff.

"The bill seeks to provide us with powers we'll hope we never have to use but the evolution of the pandemic may require it," he said.

Doctors call for military help as travel bans, border closures bite

Rural doctors say military flights are needed to transport medical workers and patients. ( 1233 ABC Newcastle: Robert Virtue, file photo )

The Government must mobilise the military to transport medical staff and patients as new restrictions challenge already-stretched remote health services, rural doctors have said.

Rural Doctors Association of Australia president John Hall said country areas already relied heavily on fly-in fly-out healthcare workers and he was "gravely concerned" about the impact of travel restrictions and cuts to commercial regional flights.

"We know that there are exemptions [from travel restrictions] for healthcare workers who are travelling, but we've seen Qantas and Rex cutting back on flights," Dr Hall told the ABC.

"So there will be a need for charter or military flights when the surge of COVID-19 cases hits."

He said extra flights would be needed to ferry in reserve medical workers and to transport out patients who needed care elsewhere.

Thailand issues emergency decree

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to detail restrictions soon. ( AP: Gemunu Amarasinghe )

Thailand has issued an emergency decree to take effect for a month, starting on Thursday.

The move gives Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha executive power to declare further measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

This includes giving officials authority to set up checkpoints to reduce people's movements.

Thailand reported three deaths and 106 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the country's number of cases to 827, with four fatalities.

Ruby Princess passenger dies in hospital, 133 coronavirus cases aboard the cruise ship

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 11 minutes 20 seconds 11 m Gladys Berejiklian warns of harsh penalties for those not obeying isolation orders.

Health authorities in New South Wales have confirmed Australia's eighth coronavirus death — a female passenger in her 70s who had been on the Ruby Princess cruise ship and died in hospital this morning.

There have been 133 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 aboard the Ruby Princess, which docked in Sydney last week.

The woman is the seventh person in NSW to die from COVID-19, with the other death in Western Australia.

Earlier, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state was at a "critical stage".

"I can't emphasise that enough," she said.

Health authorities in the state confirmed 149 new coronavirus infections in the 24 hours to 8:00pm AEDT Monday, taking the state's total to 818.

Opposition hands Morrison Government $40b coronavirus fund

Labor has handed the Government a discretionary fund of $40 billion to spend as required without legislation, as Parliament breaks for almost five months.

Large expenditure typically requires legislation that needs to pass both houses of Parliament, which Opposition and crossbench MPs debate, amend or reject along the way.

However, traditions have been cast aside in the shadow of coronavirus.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 36 seconds 1 m 36 s Labor stimulus package amendments could be good new for students and middle income earners

The Government is typically given around $1 billion to meet unforeseen need under an "advance" to the Finance Minister. That has been increased to $40 billion.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said it was about "putting aside partisan differences to make things better for the people who send us to Parliament".

The $40 billion funding pool was agreed in Parliament on Monday night, in addition to $84 billion in stimulus measures, as part of a range of radical moves designed to avoid having MPs back in Canberra during the health crisis.

Minister failed to anticipate Centrelink demand after 'maybe a million' lost their jobs

Government Services Minister Stuart Robert says he failed to appreciate the scale of demand that would be placed on Centrelink's website following the forced closure of pubs, clubs and indoor entertainment and sporting facilities yesterday.

"My bad, not realising the sheer scale of the decision on Sunday night by the national leaders," he said.

"That literally saw hundreds and hundreds of thousands, maybe a million people, unemployed overnight."

Long queues are forming outside Centrelink offices across the country again today, despite the Federal Government urging welfare-seekers to go home.

Social Services Minister Anne Ruston urged people to instead contact Centrelink by phone or online.

Abandoned elderly found dead in Spain

Barcelona's streets have been deserted since Spain declared a state of emergency over the outbreak. ( AP: Emilio Morenatti )

Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles says military personnel have been visiting nursing homes that have come under increasing pressure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The army, during certain visits, found some older people completely abandoned, sometimes even dead in their beds," she told broadcaster Telecinco, according to the BBC.

She did not say what had caused those deaths.

Coronavirus killed a further 462 people overnight in Spain, Europe's second-hardest hit country after Italy, bringing the death toll there to 2,182.

Health workers account for nearly 12 per cent of the country's total 33,089 registered cases.

Penny Wong's COVID-19 test comes back negative

Penny Wong plans to return to Adelaide when she's better. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts )

Labor Senator Penny Wong went into self-isolation yesterday after waking up feeling unwell.

She underwent a test for coronavirus, which has today come back negative.

"As soon as I am feeling well enough to travel I will return to Adelaide from Canberra," she said in a statement.

Four federal politicians have tested positive for coronavirus:

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick Liberal senator Andrew Bragg

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton LNP senator Susan McDonald

Economists say pandemic could see house prices plummet 20 per cent

Houses are being withdrawn from auction as coronavirus continues to spread. ( ABC News: David Hudspeth )

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver has predicted that unemployment will likely shoot up to about 10 per cent, double its current level, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said this could result in a 20 per cent drop in Melbourne and Sydney house prices.

"A sharp rise in unemployment to say 10 per cent or beyond risks resulting in a spike in debt-servicing problems, forced sales and sharply falling prices," Dr Oliver said.

CoreLogic's Tim Lawless said Australia's housing market would start "losing steam" by April, and the situation could be worse than expected because of high household debt.

The areas worst hit by mortgage stress would be those exposed to tourism, and where there is a higher portion of hospitality workers such as in some pockets of Western Sydney.

SBS Sydney offices forced to close, Mildura newspaper stops presses

SBS has closed its Sydney newsroom temporarily after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus.

The broadcaster said the employee last worked on March 20, was in "good spirits", and that people who had come into close contact with them had been notified.

Meanwhile, Mildura's only newspaper, The Sunraysia Daily, says it will suspend printing and all staff will be stood down due to the impact the pandemic.

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The decision affects all of Elliott Newspaper Group mastheads, including Sunraysia Life, The Guardian in Swan Hill and Gannawarra Times.

The newspaper said staff were told the intention was for operations to eventually resume.

More than 300,000 cases now recorded worldwide

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating, with more than 300,000 cases now recorded worldwide and infections reported from nearly every country.

World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus outlined the numbers:

It took 67 days to go from one reported case to 100,000 cases

It took to go from one reported case to 100,000 cases Then it took only 11 days to reach 200,000 cases

Then it took only to reach 200,000 cases Then it took just four days to reach 300,000 cases

But Dr Tedros said "we're not helpless bystanders", urging countries to take both defensive measures (home isolation and social distancing) and attacking measures (testing every suspect case, tracing and quarantining every close contact).

"We can change the trajectory of this pandemic," he said.

Boris Johnson announces new restrictions for the UK

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 4 minutes 8 seconds 4 m 8 s UK to see tough new lockdown measures as Boris Johnson addresses nation

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says people in the UK will only be allowed to leave home for these reasons:

Buying essential goods, such as food or medicines

Buying essential goods, such as food or medicines One form of exercise a day

One form of exercise a day Medical needs

Medical needs Travel for essential work

Gatherings of more than two people have been banned, and all shops selling non-essential goods will shut.

The restrictions, which will be in place for at least three weeks, will be enforced by police.

Mr Johnson said "no Prime Minister wants to enact measures like this", but said there were no easy options for fighting the coronavirus "national emergency".

"I know the damage that this disruption is doing, and will do to people's lives, to their businesses and to their jobs," he said.

'Stay in your state, and stay in your suburb'

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the border will only be open to freight and essential travel. ( ABC News )

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the decision to close the state's borders, announced yesterday, was not taken lightly.

Queensland has recorded another 78 cases of coronavirus, taking the state's total to 397 since the outbreak began.

"I'm quite sure in 1918 they didn't take the decision lightly either to close the border," she said, referring to the same measure taken a century ago to stop the spread of the deadly Spanish Flu from NSW into Queensland.

Ms Palaszczuk said all non-essential travel should be cancelled or postponed immediately.

"People should stay in their own state … As far as possible, they should be staying in their suburbs, and as much as possible, staying at home. That is very important that people understand that," she said.

The border closure will take effect from midnight on Wednesday.

Queensland's state disaster coordinator says information will be provided to people who regularly cross the border for work purposes.

Experts say loss of smell or taste might be an early sign of infection

The World Health Organisation is looking into whether the loss of smell or taste are a defining feature of the disease. ( ABC Radio Brisbane: Jessica Hinchliffe )

Medical experts citing reports from several countries say a loss of smell or taste might be an early sign of a COVID-19 infection.

There is "good evidence" from South Korea, China and Italy for loss or impairment of smell in infected people, says a joint statement from the presidents of the British Rhinological Society and of ENT UK, a British group that represents ear, nose and throat doctors.

They wrote that in South Korea, some 30 per cent of people who tested positive for the virus have cited loss of smell as their major complaint in otherwise mild cases.

A similar proposal was published on Sunday local time by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. It noted, "rapidly accumulating" anecdotal evidence from around the world that the pandemic virus can cause not only loss of smell but also a diminished sense of taste.

Maria Van Kerkhove, an outbreak expert at the World Health Organisation, said on Monday that the UN health agency was looking into the question of whether the loss of smell or taste were defining features of the disease.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and a dry cough. If you're wondering if you have a cold or if it's coronavirus, we've put together an explainer.





A-League suspends its 2019-20 season

The competition still hopes to complete its 2019-20 season at a later time. ( AAP: Brendon Thorne )

The A-League has followed the AFL and NRL in shutting its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Football Federation Australia boss James Johnson made the announcement this morning, saying the competition still hoped to complete its 2019-20 season, which still has five rounds to play.

"This is a unanimous decision of the FFA board, but it is also the unanimous decision of the A-League clubs," he said.

The decision will be reassessed on April 22.

Supermarkets allowed to coordinate to get groceries to consumers

Australia's consumer and competition watchdog has eased regulations for major supermarket chains, allowing them to coordinate with each other when working with manufacturers, suppliers, and transport and logistics providers.

The move is designed to ensure consumers have reliable and fair access to groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Australia's supermarkets have experienced unprecedented demand for groceries in recent weeks, both in store and online, which has led to shortages of some products and disruption to delivery services," ACCC chair Rod Sims said.

"This is essentially due to unnecessary panic buying, and the logistics challenge this presents, rather than an underlying supply problem."

The change does not allow supermarkets to agree on retail prices for products.

Michael Hill jewellery stores to close indefinitely

Michael Hill said new social-distancing rules were not consistent with the day-to-day conduct of its business. ( ABC News: Solua Middleton )

Jewellery chain Michael Hill International says it will immediately suspend operations of its Australian store network indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement to the New Zealand stock exchange, the jeweller said local workers would be stood down with access to leave entitlements.

It said the Federal Government's new social-distancing rules were not consistent with the company's day-to-day conduct of its business.

Olympic official expects Tokyo 2020 postponement

International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound says he expects the organisation to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"That's my conclusion from reading IOC speak in the communication," he said.

He said what probably turned the tide in the last couple of days was the curve on the COVID-19 cases.

"It is getting very, very steep now, and this is clearly not something that is going to be under control by June or July, and probably not by the end of the year," he said.

UN chief calls for COVID-19 ceasefire

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The UN Secretary-General has called for a global ceasefire to tackle coronavirus crisis.

"It is time to put armed conflict on lock down and focus together on the true fight of our lives," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

"The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly. Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world.

"The most vulnerable — women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalised and the displaced — pay the highest price.

The plea comes after Syria confirmed its first case of COVID-19: a 20-year-old woman.

Syria's health system and infrastructure has been ravaged by nearly a decade of civil war and humanitarian workers fear a catastrophe if a major coronavirus outbreak takes place there.

Germany announces trillion-dollar stimulus package

Germany's stimulus measures amount to more than 30 per cent of GDP. ( AP: Michael Kappeler, pool )

Germany has announced a stimulus package worth up to 750 billion euros ($1.392 trillion) to mitigate the damage of the coronavirus outbreak on Europe's largest economy, with Berlin aiming to take on new debt for the first time since 2013.

The new measures massively bolster a previous pledge of at least 460 billion euros in loan guarantees to help handle the fallout of running down public life to a minimum.

The measures amount to more than 30 per cent of Germany's GDP, according to Oliver Rakau, chief German economist at Oxford Economics.

This announcement comes as Mrs Merkel herself returned a negative result for a coronavirus test.

The Chancellor went into quarantine at home on Sunday evening after being informed that a doctor who had administered a vaccination against pneumococcal infection to her on Friday had tested positive.

There are also signs emerging the exponential upwards curve in new coronavirus infections in Germany is flattening off thanks to strict social distancing measures, the head of Germany's public health institute said.

As of Sunday, there were 22,672 cases of coronavirus in Germany, with 86 deaths.

Australia's coronavirus testing criteria set to change

An electron microscope image shows the coronavirus in orange. ( AP: NIAID-RML )

The Department of Health has told the ABC that the testing criteria for COVID-19 will broaden in the near future.

So far, those who qualify for a coronavirus test have to meet the following:

You have returned from overseas in the past 14 days and you develop respiratory illness with or without fever

You have returned from overseas in the past 14 days and you develop respiratory illness with or without fever You have been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the past 14 days and you develop respiratory illness with or without fever

You have been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the past 14 days and you develop respiratory illness with or without fever You have severe community-acquired pneumonia and there is no clear cause

You have severe community-acquired pneumonia and there is no clear cause You are a healthcare worker who works directly with patients and you have a respiratory illness and a fever

But on last night's episode of Q+A, Australia's deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said new test criteria would be announced "over the coming days".

"We'll be removing the traveller component, but we're working on that at the moment," Mr Kelly said.

In comments delivered to the ABC after the episode, the Health Department said it continues to "review the testing criteria" as more is known about the virus.

"In light of our stronger travel restrictions the focus logically moves to the community with COVID-19 symptoms, on top of returned travellers and close contacts of cases," it said.

"Professor Kelly flagged that the CDNA will change the testing guidelines for public health units in the near future."

South Korea records lowest number of new cases

South Korea has instituted a strict nationwide social distancing policy. ( AP: Lee Jin-man )

There is hope that Asia's largest coronavirus outbreak outside of China may be abating.

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 64 new cases on Monday, taking the national tally to 8,961. The death toll rose to 118, from 110.

But the new numbers marked the 12th day in a row the country has posted new infections of around 100 or less, compared with the peak of 909 cases recorded on February 29.

Of the new cases, 13 were from overseas travellers who tested positive after the government toughened border checks and imposed a two-week mandatory quarantine for all long-term arrivals from Europe.

South Korea began taking a 15-day intensive social distancing policy on Sunday, including restrictions on high-risk events such as religious, sports and entertainment gatherings.

State-by-state breakdown of confirmed coronavirus cases

There are 2,052 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia:

NSW: 818

NSW: 818 Victoria: 411

Victoria: 411 Queensland: 397

Queensland: 397 South Australia: 170

South Australia: 170 Western Australia: 175

Western Australia: 175 ACT: 39

ACT: 39 Tasmania: 36

Tasmania: 36 Northern Territory: 6

ABC/wires

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