Medical clinics capable of testing for coronavirus will have separate entrances for people showing symptoms, in the latest move to contain COVID-19.

Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, announced the step on Monday, and said he had written to every GP in the country in the past 24 hours with the update.

“We’ll ... be setting up some (respiratory clinics), with GPs, with primary health networks, and they will almost certainly have separate entrances, separate locations,” he said.

“Sometimes they might be co-located with an existing clinic, but with a separate entrance.

“The idea is to keep potential cases away from the general community.”

There are now 83 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in Australia. The death toll remains at three.

Not at tipping point yet

Murphy said it was important to keep in mind that Australia has only had one confirmed case of community transmission, in north-west Sydney.

“The majority of cases in Australia continue to be in return travellers (but) from an increasing number of countries from around the world,” he said, adding that the government was watching with concern the growing number of locally transmitted cases across Europe and the US over the weekend.

Australia was on no such tipping point yet, he said.

“When... we start to see more local transmission than imported transmission, that’s a fairly important distinction,” he said.

“We’re certainly not seeing that at the moment.”

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What is coronavirus and how dangerous is it?

What is the coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause a range of symptoms including a runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Some are mild, such as the common cold, while others are more likely to lead to pneumonia.

The latest strain was discovered in the Chinese province of Wuhan.

How do you get coronavirus?

China says the virus is mutating and can be transmitted through human contact.

It’s primarily spread through a sick person coughing or sneezing on someone but a person could also become infected through contact with the virus particles on a surface, NSW Health warns.

What are coronavirus symptoms?

Symptoms include fever, cough and difficulty breathing. Most of those affected are older people and those with underlying health conditions.

How dangerous is the coronavirus?

The virus has caused alarm because it is still too early to know how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people.

How do you treat coronavirus?

As it stands, there is no vaccine for the virus and because it is new, humans have not been able to build immunity to it.

A group of Melbourne researchers have been tasked with finding a vaccine, while China is testing the HIV drug Aluvia as a treatment.

How do I protect myself from coronavirus?

WHO’s standard recommendations: