Australians could leave Wuhan on Monday

Australians stranded in the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan could be evacuated as early as Monday morning.

A Qantas plane will fly to Hong Kong on Friday night, where it will be based while waiting for final approval from Chinese officials before landing in Wuhan.

An Australian government source says this final approval is likely to come over the weekend.

Hundreds of Australians are stranded in the locked down city of Wuhan, where the deadly coronavirus first infected humans.