Lauding Australia's response to handling the coronavirus pandemic, US's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said he "wished" America also adopted a similar approach.&nbsp;

Fauci said Australia was "one of the countries that has done actually quite well" in an interview to the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne's Doherty Institute, as quoted by The Guardian.&nbsp;

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"I really wish that we could transplant that kind of mentality here," Fauci said, adding masks in the US have become "a political statement".

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He said he would get into "serious trouble" if he walked into a meeting in the White House and used the word "shutdown" or "lockdown", referring to Melbourne striking up the right balance between opening the economy, wearing masks and the lockdown.&nbsp;

"If you walk on the streets of Melbourne, 99.9% of people are wearing masks," Fauci said saying he wished America also went with the same approach.

However, people were "ridiculed" for wearing masks in the US, Fauci said. &nbsp;&nbsp;

"In fact, people were ridiculed for wearing masks. It depended upon what side of a particular political spectrum you were at, which is so painful to me as a physician and a scientist and a public health person," the infectious expert said.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Lauding Australia's response to handling the coronavirus pandemic, US's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said he "wished" America also adopted a similar approach.

Lauding Australia's response to handling the coronavirus pandemic, US's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said he "wished" America also adopted a similar approach. Fauci said Australia was "one of the countries that has done actually quite well" in an interview to the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne's Doherty Institute, as quoted by The Guardian. Also read | COVID-19 vaccine will not be available before 2021, Fauci declares week before US election "I really wish that we could transplant that kind of mentality here," Fauci said, adding masks in the US have become "a political statement". Also read | Trump calls coronavirus expert Anthony Fauci a 'disaster' He said he would get into "serious trouble" if he walked into a meeting in the White House and used the word "shutdown" or "lockdown", referring to Melbourne striking up the right balance between opening the economy, wearing masks and the lockdown. "If you walk on the streets of Melbourne, 99.9% of people are wearing masks," Fauci said saying he wished America also went with the same approach. However, people were "ridiculed" for wearing masks in the US, Fauci said. "In fact, people were ridiculed for wearing masks. It depended upon what side of a particular political spectrum you were at, which is so painful to me as a physician and a scientist and a public health person," the infectious expert said.

Anthony Fauci lauds Australia's Covid-19 response, says people 'ridiculed' in US for wearing masks

Many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic. Australia's unemployment rate has jumped to its highest level in nearly about 2 decades. Watch report.

Australia jobless rate at 19-yr high: First recession likely in nearly 30 yrs

Restaurants, cafes and bars in Australia's most populous state reopened on Friday after a two-month shutdown under coronavirus lockdown measures, boosting the federal government's bid to get people back in work and the economy back on track.

Australian government gives states green light to reopen | COVID-19 Pandemic

Jobless Australians flooded unemployment offices around the country Monday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the coronavirus pandemic would cause an economic crisis akin to the Great Depression.'

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After a record 29 years of economic growth, Australia is poised to spiral into recession as the global coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc on the country's economy despite a Aus$189 billion ($109 billion) government relief package.

In scenes not seen in Australia for decades, queues stretched around the block at unemployment offices around the country as the forced closure of pubs, casinos, churches and gyms began at midday on Monday.

An online portal for government services also crashed as jobseekers rushed to register for income support payments, which have been temporarily doubled by Aus$550 a fortnight to help people cope with the coronavirus crisis.

With hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line, Morrison told his compatriots they faced an economic crisis "the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression", referring to the global financial meltdown in the late 1920s and 1930s.

"They are lining up at Centrelink offices as we speak -- something unimaginable at this scale, only weeks ago," he told Parliament.

"They have lost their jobs, many, and we know many more will. This is the biggest economic shock our nation has faced in generations."

Services Australia, which operates the social welfares offices known as Centrelink, urged people not to visit physical locations unless there was a "critical need" to do so.

After a key government website crashed, minister Stuart Robert initially claimed a demand surge had been worsened by hackers attempting a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

He later told Parliament the DDoS alarm had in fact been set off by almost 100,000 people trying to access the site at once.

Ahead of closing non-essential services, Australia had already shut its borders to international arrivals, while some interstate borders have been effectively shuttered and all non-essential travel is banned.

Morrison has warned the measures would remain in place across the country for up to six months, with stricter rules looming in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.

He said the once in a 100 years event meant that 2020 would be "the toughest year of our lives".

Australia's benchmark ASX 200 has lost 38 per cent on coronavirus fears since its peak in mid-February, falling on Monday to lows not seen since November 2012.

Seven people have died from the disease in Australia, which has a death rate of just 0.44 per cent compared to over four percent in countries like the United States, Britain and France.

The nation has recorded more than 1,600 cases of COVID-19, with infection rates accelerating in the most populous states.

Jobless Australians flooded unemployment offices around the country Monday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the coronavirus pandemic would cause an economic crisis akin to the Great Depression.

Jobless Australians flooded unemployment offices around the country Monday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the coronavirus pandemic would cause an economic crisis akin to the Great Depression.' Also read | COVID-19: Australian beaches locked down as virus cases pass 1,000 After a record 29 years of economic growth, Australia is poised to spiral into recession as the global coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc on the country's economy despite a Aus$189 billion ($109 billion) government relief package. In scenes not seen in Australia for decades, queues stretched around the block at unemployment offices around the country as the forced closure of pubs, casinos, churches and gyms began at midday on Monday. An online portal for government services also crashed as jobseekers rushed to register for income support payments, which have been temporarily doubled by Aus$550 a fortnight to help people cope with the coronavirus crisis. With hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line, Morrison told his compatriots they faced an economic crisis "the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression", referring to the global financial meltdown in the late 1920s and 1930s. "They are lining up at Centrelink offices as we speak -- something unimaginable at this scale, only weeks ago," he told Parliament. "They have lost their jobs, many, and we know many more will. This is the biggest economic shock our nation has faced in generations." Services Australia, which operates the social welfares offices known as Centrelink, urged people not to visit physical locations unless there was a "critical need" to do so. After a key government website crashed, minister Stuart Robert initially claimed a demand surge had been worsened by hackers attempting a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. He later told Parliament the DDoS alarm had in fact been set off by almost 100,000 people trying to access the site at once. Ahead of closing non-essential services, Australia had already shut its borders to international arrivals, while some interstate borders have been effectively shuttered and all non-essential travel is banned. Morrison has warned the measures would remain in place across the country for up to six months, with stricter rules looming in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus. He said the once in a 100 years event meant that 2020 would be "the toughest year of our lives". Australia's benchmark ASX 200 has lost 38 per cent on coronavirus fears since its peak in mid-February, falling on Monday to lows not seen since November 2012. Seven people have died from the disease in Australia, which has a death rate of just 0.44 per cent compared to over four percent in countries like the United States, Britain and France. The nation has recorded more than 1,600 cases of COVID-19, with infection rates accelerating in the most populous states.

Echoes of Great Depression as jobless Australians queue for help

The whole country is following the public curfew today following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to voluntarily staying inside houses to check the spread of corona virus.

India underway voluntary lockdown 'Janata Curfew' for 14 hrs