Australia govt says social distancing helping to slow coronavirus spread

FILE PHOTO: Signs on social distancing and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen outside a Centrelink office in Sydney, in the wake of New South Wales implementing measures shutting down non-essential businesses and moving toward harsh penalties to enforce self-isolation as the spread of COVID-19 reached what the state's premier calls a "critical stage" in Australia, March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The rate of spread of the novel coronavirus in Australia has halved in recent days, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday as he announced an additional A$1.1 billion ($680 million) to expand telemedicine care and other health services.

The daily increase in cases in recent days was at about 13%-15%, down from 25%-30% seen a week ago, showing social distancing measures were working, Morrison said.