Obeid trial delayed amid coronavirus fears

The marathon criminal trial of two elderly former NSW Labor ministers has been adjourned for two weeks amid public concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Ian Macdonald, 70, his former NSW ministerial colleague Eddie Obeid, 76, and the latter's son, Moses Obeid, 50, have pleaded not guilty to conspiring together for Macdonald to wilfully engage in misconduct as a minister.

The alleged plot ran between 2007 and 2009.

It allegedly involved the rigging of a tender process for a coal mining exploration licence on Obeid land at Mount Penny in the Bylong Valley near Mudgee for the family's financial benefit.

Justice Elizabeth Fullerton, who is hearing the Supreme Court trial without a jury, adjourned the hearing on Monday until March 30.

"Until then the accused can stay in glorious isolation," she said.