LATEST NEWS ABOUT COVID-19:
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NUMBERS
* Confirmed cases in Australia: 6,087
* Less than 100 new infections recorded for the first time in three weeks.
* Australian deaths: 51 (21 in NSW, 12 in Vic, four in Qld, six in WA, three in Tas, two in ACT, three in SA). 15 were passengers on the Ruby Princess.
* Daily infection rates have fallen to just two per cent, with the highest per population in Tasmania, with four per cent.
* More than 2800 people have recovered
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MEASURES
* The federal government has committed $320 billion, or 16.4 per cent of gross domestic product, to combat the virus' health and economic effects.
* A $130 billion JobKeeper scheme providing coronavirus-affected businesses $1500 a fortnight to pass onto employees over six months.
* Free child care for people still in paid work in a $1.6 billion package to childcare centres.
* NSW will spend $133 million on free childcare up to six months with $82 million for childcare centres ineligible for JobKeeper payments.
* It will also waive preschool fees for the next six months
* Small businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million will be protected from eviction and have their rent reduced in line with falls in revenue under state-enforced legislation.
* A national approach was agreed to on Friday to give virus-impacted households and businesses relief on rates, water and power bills.
* Queensland will offer land tax rebates and introduce laws preventing landlords evicting tenants unable to pay rent.
* The ATO will make it easier to claim working from home deductions with an 80 cents per hour flat rate for expenses from March 1 to June 30.
* All Australians must continue practising social distancing and stay at home unless going out for essentials or exercise.
* Australians returning home from overseas must be quarantined for two weeks in hotels or other accommodation before being allowed home.
* Three more Qantas rescue flights will bring home Australians stranded in Peru, Argentina and South Africa next week, at personal cost.
* Queenslanders will need to present a pass and have a legitimate reason to return home from Friday midnight
* Australians, excluding aid workers and compassionate cases, are banned from international travel.
* People risk being fined by police if caught travelling for non-essential reasons over Easter.
* Popular NSW and Queensland beaches including Manly, Surfer's Paradise, Coolangatta and Dee Why have closed after Sydney's Bondi Beach was shut last week.
* Federal public servants will have their wages frozen for six months
* People who spit on NSW health workers or police could be slapped with a $5,000 fine
* Still open: supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, public transport, some schools, hairdressers, petrol stations, postal and freight services, bottle shops, newsagents, retail shops. Restaurants restricted to takeaway/delivery in most states.
* Closed: schools in Victoria and ACT, gyms, indoor sports venues, pubs, cinemas, nightclubs, casinos, places of worship, theme parks, auction houses, food courts in shopping centres, beauty therapy, tanning, waxing, nail salons, spas and tattoo parlours, galleries, museums, libraries, youth centres, community halls, clubs, RSL clubs, swimming pools, amusement parks, arcades, indoor and outdoor play centres, social sports that involve large groups, outdoor and indoor markets, outdoor playgrounds, outdoor gyms, skate parks.
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KEY QUOTE
* "This, in many ways, is the most important weekend we may face in the whole course of the virus." Health Minister Greg Hunt said about the coming Easter four-day weekend.
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
* 240 million people among Australia's neighbours could be forced to live off less than $9 a day as the virus hits household incomes in East Asia and the Pacific, according to UN research.
* The Australian National University will use students' year 11 results to offer them places for undergraduate degrees in 2021.
* The Victorian government has secured a deal worth $500,000 to have ventilators produced locally in the state by June.
* UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 55, has spent a third night in intensive care following COVID-19 complications.
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SPORT
* The NRL competition is planned to restart on May 28
* The AFL, NRL, A-league soccer, Super Rugby and netball competitions are postponed.
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ECONOMICS
* The sharemarket has finished strong for the week with S&P/ASX200 gaining 3.46 per cent to close at 5,387.3 and the All Ordinaries also rising by 3.43 per cent to 5,4394 ahead of the four-day Easter break.
* Job advertisements have been slashed by two-thirds as Australian businesses absorb the economic pain of the coronavirus.
* Housing auction clearance rates plunged from 70 per cent in February to 37.3 by March end after on-site auctions and open homes were banned.
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GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS
* Cases: at least 1,519,465
* Deaths: at least 88,548
* Recovered: at least 330,900
*Source: State and federal government updates and worldometers website at 1730 AEST
Australian Associated Press