March 2020 The coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak resulted in panic buying (particularly of toilet paper), leading to empty shelves as seen here on 4 March 2020 in the Adelaide suburb of Paralowie, South Australia. There were 14 new cases in February, bringing the number of cases to 23. On 29 February, after a Queensland case of an infected person returning to Australia from Iran, the government extended the enforced quarantine to people who had been in Iran, requiring them to spend a fortnight in a third country before being allowed into Australia. On 27 February, the prime minister activated the Australian Health Sector Emergency Response Plan for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), stating that the rapid spread of the virus outside of China had prompted the government to elevate its response. The number repatriated from the ship are included in the state totals as follows: Qld (3), SA (1), Vic (4), WA (2, one of whom died on 1 March). Twenty-four Australians were infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship with eight being sent to Darwin for two weeks of quarantine. February 2020 īy 6 February, three returning members from a tour group in Wuhan were identified in Queensland. From 31 January, foreign nationals returning from China were required to have spent a fortnight in a third country before being allowed into Australia. On the same day, three other patients tested positive in Sydney after returning from Wuhan. The patient was tested and received treatment in Melbourne. On 25 January, the first case of a SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported, that of a Chinese citizen who arrived from Guangzhou on 19 January. Passengers were given an information sheet and asked to present themselves if they had a fever or suspect they might have the disease. On 23 January, biosecurity officials began screening arrivals on flights from Wuhan to Sydney. The first human case of COVID-19 in Australia was identified in Melbourne in January 2020.

This article documents the chronology and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19) and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia during 2020. Main article: COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

Whats going on in australia lockdown