Desperate parents are pleading with the Morrison Government to do more to get their babies, toddlers and older children home from the coronavirus epicentre, China's Hubei province.

Key points: DFAT confirmed there are 355 Australian citizens or permanent residents in Hubei

DFAT confirmed there are 355 Australian citizens or permanent residents in Hubei 22 minors, including eight infants, remain stranded in the province with extended family

22 minors, including eight infants, remain stranded in the province with extended family China has not allowed department staff or Chinese family members to accompany the children home

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed 22 Australian children, the youngest just eight months old, have been stranded in Wuhan and other areas of the province of Hubei since the new coronavirus identified as SARS-CoV-2 began to spread, prompting Australia to close its borders to Chinese citizens.

The department said the children — who are Australian citizens or permanent residents — are in the care of their extended families.

Two special Qantas flights were sent to Wuhan to rescue stranded Australians but children without a legal guardian were not allowed to board the planes.

Melbourne father Yi Xu has been separated from his daughter Chloe, who is almost eight months old.

Mr Yi pictured with his daughter Chloe in January. ( Supplied: Yi Xu )

Chloe is in the care of her grandmother in Wuhan, trapped and in lockdown.

Mr Xu said he was shocked and felt a sense of "desperation and very, very deep worry" about being apart.

"I worry about their living conditions," he said.

He said the Chinese Government had been sending supplies for residents, but his mother risked exposure to the virus every time she left her apartment to collect them.

"The thing that worries me the most is Chloe is due [for] immunisations."

His daughter was due for her six-month vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio and Haemophilus influenzae, which can cause meningitis.

Mr Xu said it was too risky for the immunisations to happen in China and visiting a doctor would risk exposing his mother and daughter to the new coronavirus.

"These kids, including Chloe, are Australian babies," he said.

"The Australian Government should think about taking care of them.

"Think about their welfare, do think about their human rights."

'The virus is spreading everywhere now'

Wuhan has looked like a ghost town since the lockdown began. ( AP: Arek Rataj )

Sydney-based Selina Liao has a nine-year-old daughter, Theresa, who remains in lockdown in Wuhan in the care of her grandparents.

"It's been so desperate," she told the ABC.

She says the family has been trying to get Theresa home and she feels powerless.

Theresa Li, centre, has not seen her parents for two months. ( Supplied )

"Get her out of there," is her message to Australian authorities.

Selina Liao says Theresa has been locked in a tiny apartment for 10 weeks.

"The virus is spreading everywhere now, and there are quite limited food supplies.

"We can't get enough food for her at this moment, also we don't have medical resources."

Ms Liao said it is very hard to explain to her daughter what is happening in China and why she is unable to see her parents.

But Ms Liao pointed out that the Canadian and US Governments had taken action to get their minors out.

Ms Liao also said the Chinese authorities have told her they are happy to coordinate with the Australian Government to arrange help.

"We all have kids and we all want them to be safe home, please help," she said.

DFAT says children are not 'left behind'

Government officials have been assigned to deliver supplies amid the lockdown. ( AP via Chinatopix )

Labor raised the plight of the children in Senate Estimates this week, requesting an explanation from DFAT and Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

The department confirmed there are eight babies and toddlers under the age of two who are stuck in Hubei with extended family but separated from parents in Australia.

A further 14 children between 3 and 16 years of age are in the same position.

Altogether, 20 of the unaccompanied minors are Australian citizens and two are permanent residents.

"Further assisted departure flights remain a decision for the Government," departmental official Andrew Todd told the hearing.

He said the Australian Government was working with Chinese authorities to ensure food and medicine was getting to the families.

"These children are not left behind, they are accommodated with their grandparents, and we are in touch with them."

Residential buildings with coronavirus cases have been barricaded. ( AP via Chinatopix )

Department secretary Frances Adamson said the children were unable to leave on the original evacuation flights because the Chinese Government would not allow its own citizens in the extended family of the children to leave the country.

"We have tried along the way, we have engaged the Chinese, we have requested that we be able to assist the departure of the children to whom you are referring in the company of grandparents or whoever it may be, Chinese citizens but not Australians, and the answer to that question consistently has been 'no'."

Labor senator Penny Wong asked the officials whether, for "compassionate reasons", more could be done.

"We've got Australian kids who can't get out, are we making it a priority to engage with the Chinese authorities to see if we can assist these children to leave?" Senator Wong asked.

Senator Payne said she understood it was a difficult situation for the affected families.

"It's not something we are ignoring, Senator, not at all. But it is not in the immediate prospect that there will be a further flight," she said.

Evacuating minors 'a very difficult and complex thing'

While two chartered Qantas flights have evacuated Australians from Wuhan, it is not clear if more are on the horizon. ( Supplied: Department of Home Affairs )

DFAT said China was not allowing its citizens to leave and accompany their grandchildren as legal guardians and it was not possible to arrange an alternative for the earlier evacuation flights.

During estimates, DFAT also confirmed one person requested to be allowed to sign over legal guardianship to another passenger on a flight, who was a stranger, to take custody of a child for the flight and part of the quarantine period.

That request was knocked back by the department.

"The proposal was that the parents would write a note saying, 'I, the parent of, hereby give you, another person, guardianship of my child for the purposes of a flight back to Australia' and that simply could not be accepted by ourselves or the airlines," Mr Todd told the hearing.

"It is a very difficult and complex thing, supervising a young child through a long flight and into quarantine."

He said another reason children could not fly without their legal guardian was that the department staff did not have appropriate legal clearance to care for minors.

Some of the children were also in other parts of Hubei province, away from Wuhan, and there were risks with travel to the airport.

If the children were stopped at a roadblock and found to have a temperature, they could be separated from the extended family.

Roadblocks are dotted around Wuhan to enforce the lockdown. ( Reuters )

Senator Payne could not say whether the Government had specifically raised the matter of an additional evacuation flight with Beijing.

Other countries have managed to negotiate a compromise to allow extended family members to leave China with young children on evacuation flights.

In early February, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters that China would allow its citizens to leave the country to facilitate the repatriation of Canadian minors.

"The rule is very very simple, Canadians travelling on Canadian passport are allowed to be repatriated," Mr Champagne said.

"Primary caregiver of an infant — whether they are permanent residents or Chinese nationals — we received assurance from the Chinese Government that they will allow them in because of the family unity."

The department said 355 Australian citizens and permanent residents are still in Hubei province and have "indicated an interest in further information, including the possibility of an assisted departure".

A further 369 people who had originally requested further help have returned to Australia through other avenues.