Australia closes borders to coronavirus

Australia is closing its borders to foreigners and pumping about A$100 billion ($56 billion) into the economy as it seeks to minimize the blow from the coronavirus epidemic.

Australia has recorded around 600 coronavirus infections and six deaths, a relatively small number compared to other countries, but officials are growing increasingly concerned about the prospect of an exponential rise in cases.

With the majority of the cases originating overseas, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday all non-Australian residents would be barred from entering the country from 9pm on Friday.

In neighboring New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the same measure almost simultaneously, with the ban on foreign arrivals there beginning on Thursday evening.

"For the next six months we need to work together," Morrison told Australians in a televised news conference. "We do need to moderate our behavior and understand things need to change."

Morrison's office said the ban would remain indefinitely. Morrison said the government was working to keep some flights open, as national carrier Qantas and other airlines drastically cut or abandon international operations, to bring Australians home.

The border closure came as the government and central bank ramped up their financial response to the coronavirus outbreak amid fears it will tip Australia into its first recession in nearly three decades and lead to a surge in unemployment.

The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed interest rates in an out-of-cycle cut to an all-time low and embarked on a quantitative easing program for the first time, while the government unveiled A$15 billion in loan support for small and medium lenders.

"To help us get to the other side we need a bridge," RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a speech in Sydney. "Without that bridge there will be damage, some of which will be permanent to the economy and to people's lives."

The RBA, which has been pumping money into the system throughout the week to ensure business and households have access to credit, cut rates to a record low of 0.25%. It also announced a A$90 billion lending package for banks.

The government's package for small and medium businesses adds to a A$17.6 billion stimulus package announced earlier this month. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said a planned second package "will be substantially different" to the first, comments interpreted by economists to mean a significantly larger sum.



REUTERS