Chinese people around the world have started wearing plastic containers and bags over their heads to protect themselves from coronavirus.

Photographs have surfaced on social media which appear to show the desperate measures people are taking to avoid catching the deadly disease which has killed at least 170 people already.

One picture shows a family, including a mother carrying her baby in a harness, wearing plastic bags in an airport.

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Chinese people around the world have started wearing plastic containers and bags over their heads to protect themselves from the coronavirus

Photographs have surfaced on social media which appear to show the desperate lengths people are going to to avoid catching the deadly disease which has killed at least 170 people already

Other photographs at Vancouver airport show a woman with a plastic water container over her head.

And one man even wore a motorcycle helmet as protection during a flight from Shanghai to Perth.

Marina Jambrina, a fellow passenger, told the Western Australian that most people on board were wearing masks.

She added: 'When I transferred in Shanghai I did not see anyone in the airport without a mask.

'I've never travelled like this before, it was pretty scary.'

A family at a railway station in Hong Kong were also spotted wearing plastic containers.

Other photographs at Vancouver airport show a woman with a plastic water container over her head

One man even wore a motorcycle helmet as protection during a flight from Shanghai to Perth

In some Chinese cities face masks are running out. The flu-like virus has killed at least 170 people and has infected more than 7,000 other as of this morning.

While there isn't a vaccine for the virus, health experts are urging people to regularly wash their hands with soap and water and avoid sharing food, drink and utensils.

The coronavirus is spread by particles from coughs and sneezes and takes anywhere from one to 14 days to incubate.

Most of the cases in China have been in Hubei province, specifically in Wuhan - a city of 11million people. It it believed to have initially spread to humans at a market that sold live animals and illegal wildlife.

Almost 60 cases have been reported in 15 other countries, including the US, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

One picture shows a family, including a mother carrying her baby in a harness, wearing plastic bags in an airport

In some Chinese cities face masks are running out. The flu-like virus has killed at least 170 people and has infected more than 7,000 other as of this morning

The coronavirus is spread by particles from coughs and sneezes and takes anywhere from one to 14 days to incubate

Most of the cases in China have been in Hubei province, specifically in Wuhan - a city of 11million people

More than 100 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK, but all of the results were negative.

Public Health England has warned that the virus is most likely already in the country and people who have recently travelled from Hubei to Britain have been told to stay indoors for 14 days.

British Airways has now suspended all flights to and from mainland China after the Foreign Office warned against 'all but essential travel' to the country.

Plans to bring UK citizens back from Hubei are being finalised and flights home could start as soon as tomorrow.

Roughly 500 Britons are currently trapped in Wuhan - the epicentre of the outbreak.