Professor Ian Mackay works at the University of Queensland and specialises in virology

A top doctor has sensationally predicted everyone in Australia will fall victim to the coronavirus.

Professor Ian Mackay, from the University of Queensland, said it is unlikely the deadly virus will ever be contained and the world should prepare for the worst.

The doctor's claim came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Australia a coronavirus pandemic was 'very much upon us' and detailed a plan to stockpile medicines, create makeshift clinics and place aged-care homes into lockdown.

Just hours after Mr Morrison's announcement, an Australian who was on board virus-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess was revealed to be in intensive care at a Perth hospital suffering the most severe case the country has seen so far.

The 78-year-old was one of 223 Australians quarantined on the ill-fated ship in Japan, and was flown to Darwin last Friday.

Eight Australians had been flown from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama in Japan to a quarantine centre near Darwin (pictured), where they tested positive.

After tests showed the man had the deadly coronavirus, he was taken to his home state and is now in intensive care at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

The elderly man was evacuated with his wife, who does not have the virus, and was said to be a in a 'serious but stable' condition.

Dr Mackay said it's unlikely the COVID-19 virus would 'go back in its box' and predicated all Australians would eventually be infected.

'We're likely to have the virus ­become what we call an ­endemic virus, or a virus that's just with us for life,' he told The Australian.

'We already have four of these coronaviruses, mostly causing colds. We get them every year. They peak during winter but they still move around ­between us ­during the rest of the year as well. So it's likely this might become one of those.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly give an update on the coronavirus at a press conference

'At some point in the coming months or years we're all going to get infected because we've all been infected by these other endemic viruses.'

The government's emergency response plan, announced on Thursday, would allow federal and state governments to contain the virus if there was a widespread outbreak.

The World Health Organisation has not yet formally declared a global pandemic, but Mr Morrison said Australia was operating on the basis that there is one.

The prime minister on Thursday instructed Health Minister Greg Hunt to identify 'gaps in capabilities' within Australia's state-based health services as they combat the spread of the flu-like illness.

'We believe that the risk of a pandemic is very much upon us,' he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.

'We need to take the steps necessary to prepare for such a pandemic.'

Coronavirus has killed more than 2,800 people globally and can cause severe lung damage and trigger multiple organ failure

AUSTRALIA'S VIRUS PLAN Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the risk of a global coronavirus pandemic impacting Australia is likely, releasing the government's Australian Health Management Plan on Thursday. The government is currently at the 'Initial action stage' which includes: * Health Minister Greg Hunt assumes powers under Biosecurity Act. * Enhanced border screening measures and communications with incoming travellers. * Medical stockpiles deployed to states and territories ready for use. * Potential outbreaks investigated. * National response coordinated with states and territories. The declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organisation or evidence of a large-scale, sustained transmission of the virus in Australia will move the government to a 'Targeted action stage', which would see: * Department of Health coordinating response from National Incident Room. * Health services surging staff numbers. * Items from the National Medical Stockpile distributed to health services. * Consideration of any border or social distancing measures. * Response could be scaled up or down based on spread of virus. If infection numbers reach a level that it can be contained by normal healthcare services, government moves to 'Standdown stage', which includes: * Replenishing medical stockpiles. * Resuming elective or non-urgent medical procedures. * Monitoring for second wave of virus. Advertisement

Mr Morrison said that during the past 24 hours, the 'rate of transmission of the virus outside of China is fundamentally changing the way we need to look at how this issue is being managed here in Australia'.

'As a result, we've agreed today and initiated the implementation of the coronavirus emergency response plan,' he said.

'Based on the expert medical advice we have received, there is every indication the world will enter a pandemic phase of the coronavirus.'

Mr Hunt warned parliament the 'arc of the virus' continues to expand with confirmed first cases reported in Algeria, Brazil, Greece and Pakistan.

'Against that background, the very clear message for Australians is that we are not immune but we are well prepared,' he said.

Pedestrian wearing face masks walk past a display promoting the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games on February 26

The government extended the ban on travellers entering Australia from China for another week.

The COVID-19 coronavirus has infected more than 82,000 people worldwide since it originated in December at an animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

So far 23 people in Australia have fallen ill with the virus.

A 78-year-old who was on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan is in intensive care at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital in Perth, the West Australian reported.

He is in a serious condition, however his wife who was evacuated alongside him does not have coronavirus.

Cruise ship passengers wearing face masks arrive in Sydney Harbour Face-mask clad passengers on board The Spectrum of the Seas cruise liner arrived at Sydney Harbour on Thursday, just hours after Australia launched an emergency plan to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. The Royal Caribbean ship pulled into port with about 30 people on board, many who wore protective masks as they disembarked. As they stepped onto Australian soil, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the nation a coronavirus pandemic was 'very much upon us'. One male cruise ship employee wears a face mask as he gets off the Royal Caribbean ship in Sydney on Thursday A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia no guests were on board the ship when it arrived on Thursday. She said the passengers were crew members sent to Australia to cater for firefighters who will be taken on a free four-day cruise along the country's east coast starting on Saturday to thank them for their efforts tackling the summer's bushfires. The spokeswoman said the ship has not been in China for more than two weeks, exceeding the public health guidelines. People are seen taking in the sights of Sydney Harbour on Thursday after The Spectrum of the Seas arrived Royal Caribbean earlier this month announced dates for two free cruises open to volunteers who helped battle the bushfire crisis. The first four-night cruise will leave on Saturday, with the second on March 7. Both will travel north along Australia's coast before returning to Sydney. Around 7,000 first responders and their families have booked for the complimentary voyage. Two female cruise ship workers put on their face masks as coronavirus fears heighten across the globe Advertisement

Earlier on Thursday, shelves of a Woolworths supermarket in the Sydney suburb of Bondi were stripped of medicine, toilet paper and food staples amid rising panic over coronavirus.

Customers were greeted with near empty aisles when they arrived at the supermarket on Thursday night.

The grocery store appeared to be struggling to keep the shelves stocked with paracetamol, toilet paper, tea, milk, pasta, oats and rice crackers.

The shelves of a Woolworths in the Sydney suburb of Bondi were stripped of medicine, toilet paper and food staples amid rising panic over coronavirus

Expert lists the items you need to stock up on before coronavirus becomes a global pandemic Australians need to start stocking up on food and supplies before the spread of the deadly coronavirus becomes a global pandemic and stocks of required goods start to run low, a survival expert has warned. While the vast majority of the 80,000 infections have been within China, 37 people have died in South Korea, Italy and Iran as the new hot spots emerged in the past week for COVID-19. One of Australia's leading survivalists said the nation's shoppers should start bulking up their weekly shop before the virus' spread leads to food supply shortages. 'We should always be prepared for food shortages - not just from coronavirus but civil incidences, extreme weather and power outages which will cut us off from supply,' Western Australian survival instructor Bob Cooper told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. Stockpiling by panicked shoppers has already seen shelves emptied in Italian towns at the centre of the country's outbreak in the northern Veneto and Lombardy regions. Mr Cooper said it was too early for such panic here but said Australians should start thinking about whether their food cupboards can sustain them if the supply chain is broken. 'You need to think about things that have a long shelf life: dried fruit, dried foods, cereals, pasta will also last a long time,' he said. 'Packets of flour will also allow to make your own bread.' The survival expert said shoppers should be prioritising vegetables rather than protein, as the former should make up 80 per cent of our diet. 'Things like root vegetables can be sun-dried and re-hydrated and last up to six months. I've tested it with bananas and fish as well,' he said. Mr Cooper said even more important than food is keeping a supply of your own drinking water in case the supply runs out. 'No-one is gonna die of starvation - it might get hard - but that should be the least of your priorities,' he said. 'You need to have your own water supply though.' Advertisement

Customers were greeted with near empty aisles when they arrived at the supermarket on Thursday night

Earlier this week, one woman from Queensland's Gold Coast revealed her family had started breeding fish to eat in case of economic collapse.

Coronavirus has killed more than 2,800 people globally and can cause severe lung damage and trigger multiple organ failure, particularly among the elderly or frail.

In Australia, 16 per cent of the population are over 65, compared to just nine per cent in China, where some 2,700 have died.