Australian PM announces 130 bn dollars package to support wages as coronavirus deaths touch 18

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday announced a 130 billion dollar package to support the wages of up to 6 million citizens in the country affected by the coronavirus outbreak that has claimed the lives of 18 people and infected over 4,000 across the nation.

The package will see the government pay wage subsidies of 1,500 Australian dollars every two weeks per employee to help struggling businesses keep people in work, The Age reported.

"Now is the time to dig deep. We are living in unprecedented times.The jobkeeper subsidy will be worth 1,500 dollars a fortnight and paid to employers to pay their employees," Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

Australia has so far recorded 18 deaths and reported over 4,000 infections, health