© Provided by ABC Health Tim McLean and Qiong Xu brave it outside in Ezhou (Supplied)

Tim McLean wears two face masks when he steps onto the abandoned streets of Ezhou.

Over a million people call the bustling city home, but the streets are empty.

Ezhou, in the east of the Hubei Provence of China, is in lockdown.

Public transport has been shut down. There are no cars on the road. Planes do not fly overhead.

Tim does not know what the next week holds for him and his partner.

"I don't know what to do," he said.

"I can imagine this is going to get worse before it's going to get better."

Originally from Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast, Tim met Qiong Xu when she was studying in Australia.

Qiong returned to China after her degree and Tim has spent eight of the last 14 months with her in Ezhou.

Tim spent Christmas with his daughter Jess, 27, before flying into Wuhan Airport in mid-January.

Unbeknownst to him, he'd flown into ground zero of novel coronavirus, which has killed at least 120 people and infected more than 4,500.

On January 23, China's central government imposed a lockdown in Hubei Province, in an effort to quarantine the epicentre, Wuhan.

"It didn't really occur to me how stuck I actually was," Tim said.

"But after a few days I thought about it and realised we really can't go anywhere.

"We were one of the first three cities to be shut, so we didn't have a great deal of warning."

Tim and Qiong leave the house to buy food at the supermarket most days, but the situation is tense.

Authorities in Hubei, home to 60 million people, are intent on preventing further infection.

"When you do get inside, they scan your temperature, they hold a temperature gauge up to your forehead," he said.

"We couldn't really get what we needed anyway. Food may come to a grinding halt in a couple days.

"On social media, the government is asking people to get enough rice and sit it out for a week and a half inside," he said.

"But people need to eat, people need to do things. When it comes to the crunch, they'll go looking for food when they get hungry."

Tim rides his bicycle through the empty streets during the day to pass the time.

"Yesterday I was out in the street and I saw hospital staff walking around in full white protective clothing, head gear, totally airtight, walking with what looked like patients.

"I put two masks on when I go outside, just in case."

But Tim said he doesn't regret his return to China.

"Coming to China was one of the best things I ever did. I've been teaching children English over here in the summer. It's a great place."

As the health crisis unfolded, Tim called the Australian Embassy in Beijing — but he reached an automated voicemail.

The voicemail informed him the embassy was closed for Chinese New Year, from the 27th until the 29th January.

"The virus doesn't take the public holiday. It's doubling every day and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets a lot better."

Tim said he was able to register his details with the Australian Embassy in Shanghai, who advised him to call back if he needed assistance.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared his government will attempt to evacuate "isolated and vulnerable Australians".

Children and elderly people will be evacuated from Wuhan first, and taken to Christmas Island for quarantine.

But for now, Tim says he is "stuck here".

"It's quiet. It's about zero degrees. It can be minus degrees at night."

"It's a bit overwhelming, to be honest."