As the coronavirus death toll in China passes 100, the mayor of the city at the centre of the outbreak has admitted that information about the crisis in Wuhan [[woo-hahn]] should've been released faster.
The city of 11 million people has been quarantined since last week, with trains and flights cancelled, public transport suspended, and most private vehicles banned from the roads.
So far, 2,780 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stopped short of declaring the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, but has said it's an emergency for China.
In New South Wales, a 21-year-old university student has become the fifth person diagnosed with coronavirus in Australia, after last week flying back from Wuhan.
Three men - aged 35, 43 and 53 - are also being treated at Sydney's Westmead Hospital.
In Victoria, a man in his 50s is being treated at Monash Medical Centre while four of his family members are under home isolation.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Marise Payne says the federal government is looking closely at how it could potentially help Australian citizens evacuate from Wuhan and the wider Hubei province.
Some 385 people have so far called an emergency helpline for those who may have family members in the affected regions of China.
Senator Payne says there are limitations to what the government can do to assist them.
"We don't have a consular presence on the ground so getting in to help, given the travel restrictions, continues to be a significant difficulty. And we also have to remind ourselves, I think, that the Chinese government has placed the travel restrictions in place in these areas to contain the coronavirus outbreak itself. So we are and we need to continue to work cooperatively with them in the best interests of everyone," she said.
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