No time to relax in costly virus fight: PM

That's the message political leaders and doctors were seeking to underline as federal parliament met to pass the latest weapon in the war on COVID-19 - a $130 billion support package called JobKeeper.

Australia's death toll from the coronavirus hit 50 on Wednesday.

But the average daily increase in cases has slowed to two per cent, with 6010 confirmed cases in Australia and between 1000 and 2500 patients recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine and Worldometer.

Of most concern is the almost 550 people who have been infected with coronavirus by someone who didn't know they had it.

"Progress can be easily undone, as we have seen in other places around the world," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at the start of a parliamentary sitting.

"We are only a few days away from Easter, a time that should give us great hope, and the message is clear, though: stay home, don't travel, don't go away. We can't let up now."

Health Minister Greg Hunt warned abandoning social distancing rules over the long weekend would undo everything done to curtail the crisis.

"This Easter is the time where we can lock in the gains we have made as a country. The virus does not take a holiday," he said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he understood people were desperate to do the things that were normal for them at Easter time, like visiting relatives, but that would only achieve further spreading of the virus.

Restrictions would have to stay in place for the medium term, he warned.

In NSW, leader Gladys Berejiklian said restrictions were being reviewed every month, but social distancing would be needed until a vaccine was found.

"If the advice in a couple of weeks' time is that there might be a couple of aspects that we can tweak to provide relief to our citizens, well then we'll take that advice," she told reporters.

"But that comes with risk and I need to be very up-front about that.

"Every time you relax a restriction, more people will get sick, more people will die, and it's a horrible situation to be in but they're the choices."

The latest people to test positive for the illness include an infectious diseases nurse who was treating COVID-19 patients in a Brisbane hospital.

She stayed home when symptoms emerged and notified her bosses immediately. The nurse is now resting in isolation.

Mr Hunt announced the government would distribute 11 million more protective masks to healthcare workers around the country, including hospitals, GPs and aged care staff.

He also warned it was a criminal offence to deliberately transmit the coronavirus or to make someone fear they had it, such as by coughing on them.

People face life imprisonment if their deliberate infections lead to someone dying.

Doctors are also concerned about people neglecting their ordinary health needs, or being too worried to seek medical care amid the pandemic.

Over the past week, 2.5 million telehealth consultations have been done and Mr Hunt praised Australians for adopting a new way of visiting their doctors.

The prime minister channelled wartime leader Winston Churchill in an address to parliament on Wednesday, declaring Australia would not surrender to the threats the virus posed.

"Today is about defending and protecting Australia's national sovereignty," Mr Morrison said.

"It will be a fight we will win. But it won't be a fight without cost, or without loss."

Labor leader Anthony Albanese, whose party backed the JobKeeper package, remained concerned more than one million casuals would miss out on the $1500 a fortnight payment, and urged Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to consider using his ministerial powers to extend it.

The national cabinet will meet on Thursday to consider a unified approach to schools and year 12 students who have been severely disrupted.

Australian Associated Press