SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will introduce a pandemic leave payment for workers who have run out of sick leave but need to be quarantined because they have been directed to stay at home due to the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday.
The announcement comes as the country deals with a second wave of infections, and its second most populous state, Victoria, closes retail shops, limits construction projects and curtails manufacturing activity in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The payment will be a A$1,500 for a two-week pandemic leave period.
(Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Editing by Kevin Liffey)