The federal government has just placed a ban on all non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people in order to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the ban on Wednesday morning, which will likely impact bars and restaurants. For outdoor gatherings, the ban on 500 or more people will remain.
“We are looking at a situation for at least six months for how we deal with this,” he said.
“So what we’re doing, you’ve got to be able to keep doing, and you’ve got to be able to sustain that.
“The idea that you can just turn everything off for two weeks and it all goes away – that is not the evidence, that is not the facts.”
The Prime Minister announced that the following places are not part of the ban: supermarkets, healthcare facilities, offices, schools, universities, factories, construction sites, hotels, emergency service facilities, nursing homes and prisons.
“They are essential gatherings, non-essential is everything else,” the Prime Minister added.
“If we slow the spread, then we do save lives.”
State governments will also have the power to expand these bans and add to the list of what is considered a non-essential gathering. The move follows similar bans in cities around the US, Europe and Asia.
To date, there have been over 450 confirmed coronavirus cases around Australia.
Measures such as this are part of social isolation, in which prevents the spread of the disease by minimising all non-essential social interactions. This stops the healthcare system from being overwhelmed with too many cases at once.
