Schools across the country are preparing to isolate students as they return from holidays from coronavirus-affected areas in China, where the death toll from the epidemic has risen to 81.

Five cases have now been confirmed in Australia and state health authorities are bracing for the possibility of further infections.

A 21-year-old female university student is being treated at Sydney's Westmead Hospital along with three men who have also tested positive, while another man is being treated in Victoria.

Guest: Tania Sorrell, professor of infectious diseases, University of Sydney, and director, Centre for Infectious Diseases, Westmead Hospital

Producer: Cathy Van Extel