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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday instructed the nation to brace for more extreme coronavirus containment measures, saying a ban on nursing home visits could be introduced as early as Tuesday.
On Sunday he announced that all overseas arrivals to Australia will be subjected to mandatory 14-day self-isolation effective immediately.
"Right now the medical expert panel is considering particularly the nursing home issue in terms of how we limit the number of visits into nursing homes and we'll receive that advice very soon," he said on Monday.
"The national cabinet is meeting again on Tuesday evening, and we'll be making decisions on those issues."
According to the Department of Health of the Australian Government, there were 298 diagnosed cases of the virus as of 1 p.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Monday - up from 249 on Sunday morning.
The number of COVID-19 deaths in Australia on Sunday rose from three to five after the deaths of two elderly people, one of whom was an aged care facility resident in New South Wales.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) on Monday declared a public health state of emergency amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Andrew Barr, the ACT's chief minister,announced that the territory would follow Victoria in declaring a state of emergency. South Australia has declared a public health emergency over the weekend. The remaining states and territories are expected to do the same as part of a national response to the virus.
Minutes after Morrison spoke Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that Australia could be set for a complete lockdown similar to that which has been introduced in Italy.
The PM also on Monday flagged a major national awareness campaign targeted at children similar to a series of comic strips being produced by the government of Singapore.
Parliament is set to resume on March 23, with the government to introduce legislation for its 17.6 billion Australian dollar economic stimulus package.
The government has issued a ban on non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people but Morrison on Monday said that Parliament was an essential meeting and would continue with a 'skeleton staff'.
"It won't be a necessity for all the staff to attend," he said.
Woolworths, Australia's largest supermarket chain, on Monday morning launched an exclusive shopping hour for elderly Australians and those with a disability from 7am to 8am every day.
"The move has been prompted by the unprecedented demand in supermarkets over the past week, which has seen many elderly and vulnerable people in the community missing out on vital items they may need when they shop," the company said in a statement.
Morrison praised the initiative, which came amid growing reports of violent altercations over limited supplies including toilet paper in supermarkets.
"This is a great move by one of the supermarkets today, I mean, they're actually now providing particular times when more elderly people, pensioners and things, can go to the supermarkets, common sense, great idea," Morrison said.
"Well done. And let's all look after each other and be respectful to each other and help each other out."