A Brisbane man who was being tested for a deadly new strain of coronavirus has been cleared of having the illness, a Queensland Health spokesman says.

Key points: The Brisbane man was placed in home isolation after he presented to his GP with flu-like symptoms

The Brisbane man was placed in home isolation after he presented to his GP with flu-like symptoms But he was released on Tuesday after having no symptoms of the virus and subsequent lab tests have come back negative

But he was released on Tuesday after having no symptoms of the virus and subsequent lab tests have come back negative The virus has claimed the lives of several people in China

The man had recently returned from Wuhan in central China, where the mysterious SARS-like illness was identified last month.

The man would have flown into Sydney from China.

"Laboratory tests show a man who fell ill upon returning from Wuhan in central China does not have the novel coronavirus," the Queensland Health spokesperson said in a brief statement.

The man was placed in home isolation after he presented to his GP with flu-like symptoms but was released yesterday as he had no symptoms of the virus.

The virus has claimed the lives of several people in China.

Australia 'well prepared to respond'

Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said it was "quite possible" the deadly new coronavirus would reach Australian shores, but insisted the nation was equipped to respond.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with Professor Murphy for a briefing about the threat posed by the virus at the Department of Health's National Incident Room in Canberra.

Mr Morrison was shown the new border campaign that will be rolled out at airports from tomorrow, which urges people travelling from China's Wuhan region to wash their hands and cover their mouth when coughing.

Professor Murphy said Australia was ready to respond and isolate any travellers who were suspected of carrying the virus.

"It's quite possible we will get a case, but I think we are well prepared to respond," Professor Murphy told Mr Morrison.

"We currently have over 10 million masks, even though we distributed 3.5 million during the bushfires, so we've got a good stockpile.

"We keep all sorts of things, particularly drugs, EpiPens, thermometers, so if there is a very large emergency of a public health significance that overwhelms the suppliers in state and territory health services we can activate that stockpile and get stuff out."

Mr Morrison acknowledged people would be "somewhat anxious about this outbreak" but said Australian health agencies were "leaning forward".

"The states and Commonwealth are working together to stay ahead of this," Mr Morrison said.

Virus started in city of Wuhan

Chinese officials said the new virus was adapting and mutating, underscoring the challenges for health authorities in controlling the outbreak.

An official from the country's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus originated from a market dealing in illegal wildlife transactions.

The virus, which started in the city of Wuhan at the end of last year, has spread to Beijing and Shanghai, as well as overseas to the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

The Chinese special administrative region of Macau also confirmed its first case of pneumonia linked to the outbreak, state-owned news agency Xinhua said.

China is taking more strict measures in hospitals to protect healthcare workers from the outbreak, and will increase training for healthcare workers nationwide, officials from the health commission said.

Authorities added that the infection of medical staff in the outbreak showed there were loopholes in treatment methods as authorities were still learning about the new virus.

Chinese residents vented their frustrations on social media over the limited availability of face masks being available to purchase in many cities such as Chengdu, as well as online.