Public gatherings will be limited to two people as governments and the elderly should stay home "as much as practicable" under new COVID-19 rules and advice.

Public gatherings will be limited to two people in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19 as the national death toll reaches 16.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders on Sunday agreed to further tighten the rule around indoor and outdoor public gatherings from 10 to two.

It will be up to the individual states and territories whether it is strictly enforced by police.

The limit won't apply to members of the same household or family units, Mr Morrison said.

The prime minister on Sunday night also issued new advice relating to who should self-isolate.

He discouraged people aged over 70, people aged over 60 with chronic illness and indigenous Australians over 50 with chronic illness from leaving home "to the maximum extent practicable".

Mr Morrison said the measure was for the protection of the individuals - who could face more severe effects from the virus - rather than the general public.

"They should limit contact with others as much as possible," he said.

State and territory leaders also agreed that playgrounds, skate parks and outside gyms in public places would be closed from midnight on Monday night.

They agreed to a six-month moratorium on evictions for commercial and residential tenancies in financial distress who couldn't meet their commitments because of the COVID-19 fallout.

The coronavirus death toll reached 16 over the weekend after a man aged in his 80s died in hospital in Victoria, while a 75-year-old woman died in Queensland.