Scott Morrison English news | Scott Morrison, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

Canberra, March 22 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday announced a second A$66 billion economic stimulus package and warned against all non-essential travel as the number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 1,098.Morrison unveiled the package, building on measures included in the A$17.6 billion package he announced on March 13, reports Xinhua news agency.Under the second package small businesses will receive cash payments of up to A$100,000 in an attempt to save jobs.Speaking at a press conference here, Morrison urged Austral to cancel all non-essential travel within the country in order to stop the spread.He was joined by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg who said that the economic impact of the global pandemic in Australia would be "deeper, wider and longer" than previously thought.The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia was 1,098 as of Sunday morning an increase of more than 200 from 874 the previous day.The death toll currently stands at seven."We cannot prevent all the many hardships, many sacrifices that we will face in the months ahead," Morrison said about the economic package."And while these hardships and sacrifices may break our hearts on occasion, we must not let them break our spirit and we must not let them break our resolves as Austral."The national cabinet will meet on Sunday night to discuss how the government's social distancing measures can be enforced.The Premiers of New South Wales and Victoria, which together account for 63.6 per cent of Australia's confirmed cases, will reportedly use the meeting to push for a blanket lockdown on non-essential activities, including businesses."People cannot be cavalier about these things and must take them extremely seriously because lives and livelihoods are at stake," Morrison said."The more social distancing we do, the less severe the economic impacts have to be and so that is why I appeal to Austral that you are and listed in our fight against the virus. You have a role to play."All non-essential travel should be canceled."Only minutes after Morrison's press conference concluded Steven Marshall, the Premier of South Australia (SA), announced that the state will effectively close its borders indefinitely from Tuesday, becoming the first state or territory to do so.Anyone who enters SA from 4 p.m. on Tuesday will be subjected to a mandatory 14-day isolation period.( With inputs from IANS )

Scott MorrisonFOLLOW

Scott morrison, Latest News

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for a global crackdown on Chinese wild animal markets which are believed ... ...

Australian states have closed their borders in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. ...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday announced a free childcare program for Australian parents during the coronavirus shutdown, stressing that those parents who needed to be physically present at work should have somewhere that can take care of ...

The Australian government on Monday announced a six-month wage subsidy package worth $80 billion to support the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, taking the total value of economic stimulus measures beyond A$200 billion ($123 billion). ...

The Australian government on Sunday announced an A$1.1 billion ($678 million) funding package to support the country's most vulnerable amid the coronavirus pandemic. ...

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday announced that every person who arrives in the country from Sunday onwards will be forced into a 14-day quarantine period as a preventive measure against the coronavirus pandemic. ...

All pubs, clubs, cinemas, casinos, nightclubs and places of worship in Australia will close down from Monday in view to curb spread of coronavirus cases, which have risen to 1,315, Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday. ...

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday announced a second A$66 billion economic stimulus package and warned against all non-essential travel as the number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 1,098. ...