Coronavirus

The Bulls suffered a defeat to Reds in Brisbane on Saturday and was scheduled to face the Waratahs before heading to New Zealand on their four-week Australia tour.

However, the Bulls are now returning home following SANZAAR’s decision to suspend the tournament indefinitely amid the global Coronavirus pandemic.

Following SANZAAR’S announcement of the Super Rugby tournament being suspended, we can confirm that the Bulls team will be returning to South Africa and are expected to touch down on Monday evening.

"This is very important," Scott Morrison said at a briefing, adding that the measure would take effect from midnight on Sunday (13:00 GMT).

The measures mirror those announced by New Zealand on Saturday.

Foreign cruise liners will also be banned from docking in Australia for 30 days, but schools will remain open.

Australia has reported nearly 250 confirmed cases, with three deaths.

Competitions including the Premier League, the NBA and Formula One were off as sport attempts to combat the spread of the virus.

There have been over 160,000 confirmed cases and more than 6,000 deaths worldwide.

Without work to keep them busy, athletes were finding other ways to entertain themselves - and often posting evidence online.

Tyson Fury would not have been in boxing action this weekend, as it is just weeks since his stunning world heavyweight title defeat of Deontay Wilder, but he was still impacted by coronavirus.

Last weekend's Pasifika festival was cancelled amid fears that coronavirus could be spread.

So far, Polyfest's organisers are pushing ahead with the event in Manukau, saying extra precautions were being taken.

But Auckland councillor for Manukau, Efeso Collins, said people in the community were increasingly worried.

"Yeah, it's an absolute nightmare when you organise stages to go up but I think that nightmare is liveable if you know that you are not going to have serious health effects come out of holding the Polyfest.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero has declared a state of public health emergency in the US territory, which is also a hub for travel in the North Pacific.

"All three confirmed cases are currently in isolation," Ms Guerrero said in a statement.

"Preliminary investigation has indicated that all three had travel connections - two recently travelled to the Philippines and the third had a family member who recently returned from Japan."

The two who travelled from the Philippines were on a United Airlines flight from Manila on 2 March.

Six teams from Australia, Asia and the Pacific kicked off the inaugural home and away season on Saturday with the Fijian Latui and Manumā Samoa slumping to first round defeats in Suva and Perth.

However, Rapid Rugby chief executive Mark Evans said new travel restrictions introduced by the New Zealand and Australian governments, which require all overseas arrivals to self-isolate for 14 days, had made the continuation of the competition impossible.

Six cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Pacific so far - the first three in French Polynesia and, last night, three more were confirmed in Guam.

Health officials have made no secret of their fears about the rapidly spreading virus, and what it could do in isolated countries with limited health resources. Many have pointed to the devastation wrought by the measles in Samoa last year.

In Samoa, the government further tightened travel restrictions to keep out the coronavirus over the weekend.

The 93-year-old monarch was rushed to Windsor Castle.

There are plans in place to quarantine the Queen and Prince Philip, 98, at their Sandringham estate if the outbreak worsens.

A royal source told The Sun: “She is in good health but it was thought best to move her. A lot of her staff are a bit panicky over coronavirus.

“The Palace hosts a constant stream of visitors including politicians and dignitaries from around the world.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday afternoon, Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed the latest cases are both foreign nationals - from Australia and Denmark.

Dr Bloomfield said both those people are in isolation.

"A man in his 60s visiting from Australia prior to flying to New Zealand, has now been confirmed as positive by the Australian authorities," the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The decision comes after the government announced that travellers entering the country from midnight Sunday must self-isolate for 14 days due to fears over the coronavirus outbreak.

SANZAAR, who run the competition, says it "has no option but to suspend the 2020 Super Rugby tournament" for the foreseeable future after the ACT Brumbies host the New South Wales Waratahs on Sunday.