Australia to quarantine Wuhan evacuees on asylum-seeker island

Australia plans to evacuate its citizens from the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak in China and quarantine them on an island normally used to detain asylum seekers, according to proposals unveiled on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said "vulnerable" Australians -- including children and the elderly -- and short-term visitors to Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province would be prioritised in extraction efforts.

Officials said about 600 Australians were known to be in the area, which has been locked down in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

Morrison said Australia was working with New Zealand on the operation and would seek to help Pacific nations evacuate their citizens where possible but his "first priority right now is the safety of Australians".

"I stress there is rather a limited window here and we are moving very, very swiftly to ensure we can put this plan together and put the operation together," Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

"I stress that this will be done on a last-in, first-out basis."