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Social distancing may continue for year in Australia

17 April 2020 19:40 (UTC +04:00)

Unless a vaccine against the novel coronavirus is found, social distancing measures may continue for a year in Australia, the country's premier said on Friday, APA reports citing Yeni Safak.

Scott Morrison underlined that there was no guarantee that a coronavirus vaccine will be developed.

Authorities also decided to continue the lockdown in the country for the next four weeks to stem the spread of the infection.

"There was never a vaccine for [viruses] SARS or MERS and the social distancing is something we should get very used to," said Morrison.

Australia has more than 6,520 cases of the coronavirus while the death toll rose to 65 after a COVID-19 patient was reported to have died on Friday.

"Certainly, while the virus is prevalent across the world [the 1.5-meter rule] should be a natural instinct."

People in Australia are consuming more alcohol the more they stay home during the lockdown put in place against the virus, new figures suggest.

According to a national YouGov Galaxy poll, 20% of more than 1,000 participants said they bought more alcohol than usual and almost a third of them were now drinking daily, ABC News reported.

Also, many have taken to renovating their homes as they continued to live in isolation to avoid getting infected.

Although big projects have taken a hit, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that demand for small jobs and maintenance including repairs by homeowners have gone through the roof.