The government has decided to ban all people flying from mainland China to Australia to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Dozens of people have been killed by the new strain and more than 12,000 have been infected.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison expanded the ban to anyone who has travelled through the country recently.
Mr Morrison met with the Chief Medical Officers of all states and territories and decided the ban was the best course of action 'to substantially reduce the volume of travellers coming from mainland China.'
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He recognised that the number of people dying from the virus, compared to the number of infected, was quite low, but he doesn't want to take any chances.
The Prime Minister said the threat was 'increasing but still relatively small number of cases in provinces outside the Hubei province and the now resulting risk posed from travellers from all of mainland China'.
Exceptions will be made for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families, as well as crews on flights who have been using appropriate personal protective equipment.
The ban kicked into place on February 1 and anyone who has arrived from mainland China since will be placed 'in an alternative place of detention for a quarantine period'.
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Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram told reporters: "We are seeing, since the implementation of this measure already, significant impact, a beneficial impact.
"For example, in Melbourne, we were expecting about 5,000 scheduled passengers to arrive from China, and we're now expecting about 700 over that 24-hour period. So a significant downturn.
"In Brisbane, we were expecting 220, and we're now only expecting about 97."
But there are fears that the travel ban will drastically impact businesses who rely on the year-round visitation from tourists.
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Restaurant & Catering Association chief executive Wes Lambert told The Age: "Some members have told us they have gotten calls from some of their tourism operators that have had cancellations in the hundreds of thousands.
"We would hope that the government would consider financial packages similar to the bushfires. If your number one inbound, international tourism supplier is cut off it doesn't take very long to have a dramatic effect.
"We will certainly be lobbying the government on behalf of our members to help those businesses stay open."
The travel ban will be reviewed in two weeks and officials will take into account how the coronavirus has spread.
Featured Image Credit: PA