Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott says a complete shutdown is needed to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

The government was one of the first in the world to declare COVID-19 a pandemic and has introduced strict measures to contain it.

In 2005, then Health Minister Tony Abbott said a pandemic could be the “worldwide biological version of the Indian Ocean tsunami”.

He tells Alan Jones Australian officials have been planning a pandemic response for decades.

“No response will ever be perfect but I think our response has been better.

“I think that Scott Morrison is doing very well in this unprecedented crisis.

“We need to have a very, very complete shutdown now to do everything we humanly can to prevent the spread of the disease.

“You can only put the economy into a coma for so long, it can’t be indefinite… but the more complete it is now the more likely it is to be shortlived.”

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Image: Getty/Stefan Postles