The largest single economic bail-out package in Australia's history has passed federal parliament overnight, with the one hundred and 30-billion dollar Jobkeeper scheme now becoming law. The scheme will pay employers 15-hundred dollars per fortnight for each worker they keep on the payroll during the coronavirus shutdown.
There are almost one-point-five million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world this morning, and close to 87-thousand deaths. The United States now has more than 400-thousand confirmed cases. In the UK, there have been more than 900 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours. The World Health Organisation has warned now is not the time to relax lockdown measures, despite some countries seeing a slight plateau in their figures.
Would-be tourists are being warned against travelling over the Easter period, with premiers and regional mayors telling Australians to stay at home. Mayors in northern New South Wales want border closures to help protect their communities, while the Queensland premier has also told people not to seek out warmer climates. Victorian premier Daniel Andrews won't stop people from travelling to properties they own, but says this is "not an Airbnb weekend."
The US senator, Bernie Sanders, has suspended his campaign to become US president. The development clears the way for the former vice-president, Joe Biden, to become the Democratic party's nominee. The 78-year-old senator from Vermont gave the news to his campaign staff before addressing supporters online saying a win against Biden would be impossible.