Members of the Ferrari team arrive to pack up their equipment after the Formula One Australian Grand Prix was cancelled in Melbourne on March 13, 2020. The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was cancelled on March 13 just hours before the action was due to start over fears about the spread of coronavirus after a McLaren team member tested positive. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

SYDNEY - The Australian Formula One Grand Prix was cancelled on Friday and a cricket series between Australia and New Zealand was ordered to be played behind closed doors as Australian authorities intensified efforts to contain the coronavirus.

Australia has recorded 126 infections and three deaths from the flu-like disease but authorities expect this to increase significantly in the coming weeks with the arrival of the southern hemisphere winter.

Australia has recorded 126 infections and three deaths from the flu-like disease but authorities expect this to increase significantly in the coming weeks with the arrival of the southern hemisphere winter

ALSO READ: McLaren withdraws from Aussie GP as member tests positive

The sports-mad country’s two most popular sports, rugby league and Australian Rules football, are beginning their seasons with games that typically draw tens of thousands of spectators, raising the risk of contagion.

The federal government has not formally ordered such events to be cancelled but there are growing calls from senior health experts for Australia to follow the lead of other countries with more severe outbreaks to ban mass gatherings.

Organizers of the Australian Grand Prix cancelled Sunday’s race after Victoria state’s chief medical officer said it could proceed only without spectators.

Australia’s one-day series against New Zealand, due to start on Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, would go ahead without fans in attendance because of the coronavirus threat, Cricket Australia said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the Australian Rules football league season may need to be suspended. The country’s biggest and best-attended football code is due to begin its season on March 19.

“I understand this is deeply frustrating. There is going to be a lot of disruption, a lot of inconvenience. These are difficult times,” he told reporters.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison met state leaders on Friday to discuss a stimulus spending package designed to reinforce the health sector, support small businesses and people on welfare, and prevent Australia’s first recession in nearly 30 years.

Australian women's Twenty20 cricket player Ellyse Perry (C) takes a selfie with fans in Melbourne's Federation Square on March 9, 2020, a day after defeating India in the final of the women's cricket World Cup. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

Morrison on Thursday said his government will inject A$17.6 billion (US$11.1 billion) to spur an economy hammered by the coronavirus outbreak.

The package has done little to clam investors, with the country’s share market down more 10 percent since the announcement.

READ MORE: Australian F1 race without fans? Not a chance, say organizers

Australia has taken a hardline approach to curtailing the spread of coronavirus, banning foreigners from arriving from China, Iran and South Korea for several weeks at least.

The ban was extended on Thursday to cover Italy, though Morrison has ruled out extending the restrictions to cover the European Union as a whole.

An empty fanzone is pictured before the first practice session was to take place for the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 13, 2020. The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was cancelled on March 13 just hours before the action was due to start over fears about the spread of coronavirus after a McLaren team member tested positive. (GLENN NICHOLLS / AFP)