Australia declares emergency, warns coronavirus crisis could last six months

Workers clean windows on the Sydney Opera House, where scheduled public performances have been cancelled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sydney, Australia, March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday declared a "human biosecurity emergency" and said the country's citizens should abandon all overseas travel because of the coronavirus epidemic that he warned could last at least six months.

The formal declaration gives the government the power to close off cities or regions, impose curfews and order people to quarantine, if deemed necessary to contain the spread of the virus.