Australia: COVID-19 restrictions to remain for a month

ANKARA

Australia's strict preventive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 will continue over coming weeks, the country's prime minister announced on Thursday.

Scott Morrison said the current restrictions will remain in place for at least the next four weeks.

"A positive thing to say is we have often found ourselves, as we have now, in a better place ahead of time … but we want to be very clear with Australians, baseline restrictions we have in place at the moment -- there are no plans to change those for the next four weeks," he said at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"It's going to be step by step, there is going to be trial and error, it is completely uncharted territory ... no country in the world has worked this out yet."

The country has 6,462 coronavirus cases so far, with 63 deaths and 2,355 recoveries.

The prime minister acknowledged the financial impact of the lockdown and asked citizens to be ready for "some very sobering economic news in the months ahead".

Meanwhile, students in New South Wales (NSW) are expected to return to schools from May 11.

NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday said new social distancing measures will be implemented in schools to protect teachers and students.

"It's important for everybody involved -- whether you're dropping off a child, whether you're a teacher and, of course, the kids themselves -- that everybody's safe and feels they are safe," Berejiklian said.

NZ lockdown decision next week

New Zealand’s government will decide next week whether to lower country’s alert level.

The country has 1,401 COVID-19 cases, nine deaths and 770 recoveries so far.

It will remain at alert level 4 until April 22 and a decision on further action is not expected until next Monday.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the lockdown "remains the most effective way to break the chain of transmission", local daily New Zealand Herald reported.

"At level 3 there are slightly more opportunities for you to come into contact with people outside your bubble. As a general rule of thumb, the goal of keeping two meters away from each other still applies," she said.

"The main message remains stay home to save lives."

The prime minister said e-commerce could reopen under certain conditions and people will still be advised to work from home.

According to the report, there could also be partial reopening of schools, while number of people at funerals and wedding parties will be limited to 10.

"To eliminate COVID-19 will continue to take a team-of-five-million effort. Under lockdown we have shown our ability to put in place a virtual wall that has broken the chain of transmission," said Ardern.

"Our new line of defense when we reach level 3 is common sense, following the rules and trust in one another."