NITN | @notintownlive | 23 Mar 2020, 10:17 am
Canberra/Xinhua/UNI: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia soared in the past 24 hours from 1,098 on Sunday morning to 1,479 on Monday morning and then to 1,709 by afternoon.
In a rare practice, the Australian Health Department updated the number twice Monday.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday afternoon, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy stressed the importance of social distancing to slow the spread of the virus, calling on Australians to "come down hard" on colleagues and friends who ignore self-isolation measures.
"This is the world of social distancing. This is a new way of us interacting with each other all of the time," Murphy told reporters in Canberra.
"Every single Australian who lands on our shore, whether it's from a cruise ship or a plane, or any other means of transportation needs to undergo rigorous quarantine for 14 days now."
As of Monday morning there had been 135,000 tests for COVID-19 undertaken in Australia.
In a post on social media on Monday, Nick Talley, the editor-in-chief of the Medical Journal of Australia, announced that a further 500,000 testing kits that deliver results within fifteen minutes would arrive in Australia within a week.
According to an analysis of Department of Health data conducted by News Corp Australia on Monday, almost half of confirmed cases in Australia are people under the age of 49.
The two groups with the most number of confirmed infections were 25 to 29 and 30 to 34.
- India announces free e-visas to Filipino tourists
- Sweden unveils Nämdöskärgården – A new Marine National Park in the Baltic Sea
- Monsoon Charity Fair in Kolkata highlights efforts of social changemakers
- Jordan showcases Adventure Tourism with 2025 Marathon Des Sables
- 10 Indian nationals among 99 denied entry into Malaysia after security screening at Kuala Lumpur airport
- Visiting US just got $250 more expensive; here's why
- Air India begins phased resumption of international flights after AI171 crash; Heathrow to replace Gatwick on Ahmedabad-London route
- We took a hit post-Pahalgam but tourism is flowing back: J&K CM Omar Abdullah assures safety to visitors
- Air India expands codeshare partnership with Air Mauritius
- Air India announces network-wide sale ahead of the summer holiday season
Malaysia Airlines will expand its South India network by adding more flights on the Kuala Lumpur–Trivandrum route to meet rising demand, the airline said. From September 12, the carrier will operate five weekly services, with daily flights to start from December 1.
IndiGo has expanded its codeshare agreement with KLM, the Netherlands’ national airline, providing its passengers with enhanced access to destinations across Europe and the United Kingdom through KLM’s network, the airline said.
Etihad Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines have signed a frequent flyer partnership, allowing members of Etihad Guest and Azul Fidelidade programme to earn and redeem loyalty points across both airlines.