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Three coronavirus cases confirmed in NSW
There are three cases of coronavirus in NSW and five other people possibly have the disease, health officials have announced.
The three men aged 53, 43 and 35 had recently returned from Wuhan, and are now in isolation.
"I'd like to thank each of these three people because they have been exemplary in the way that they presented themselves, to have a medical test, and to have the necessary pathology in due course, when it was appropriate from the medical practitioners point of view," the NSW Minister for Health, Brad Hazard said.
"The first man arrived on January 6, the other two men more recently."
The announcement comes after Australia's first coronavirus patient was confirmed in Melbourne on Saturday morning.
Passengers from Wuhan arrive at Sydney Airport on the last flight out of the city on Thursday. Credit: Janie Barrett
The symptoms of the new virus are similar to a cold or flu and can include breathing difficulties.
In China, the official death toll from the coronavirus has jumped from 26 people to 41 people overnight.
More than 1,300 people have been infected globally, as health authorities around the world scramble to prevent a global pandemic.
The total number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 1,287, the National Health Commission said in a statement on Saturday.
China Eastern Airlines flights from Sydney to and from the Chinese city Xi'an via Wuhan have been cancelled through to March 29. The airline is contacting affected customers.
"The health and safety of our customers and employees is our number one priority," a statement from the airline said on Friday.
With AAP
Janek Drevikovsky is an intern journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald.
Laura is a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald.