First confirmed case of coronavirus in Tasmania

Another Australian has tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus in Tasmania after recently returning from Iran.

The man arrived through Launceston Airport on Saturday and was wearing a mask when he landed.

The Tasmanian Government has assured the public the man has followed all advice necessary and the risk for residents is low.

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"I want to be clear, a public health emergency has not been declared and Tasmanians are at low risk," said Tasmanian Health Minister Sarah Courtney.

"With regards to our preparations in Tasmania, we are very well prepared."

The latest case brings the total number of new coronavirus cases from Iranian travellers to five.

In total, Australia has had 30 confirmed cases - 15 Chinese tourists or residents who had visited China, 10 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, and the five people who recently arrived from Iran.

Fifteen of those cases have been cleared.

Australia also recorded its first coronavirus death at the weekend when James Kwan, 78, died in a Perth hospital.

He and his wife were among evacuees from the Diamond Princess, with both falling ill after being taken to Darwin for two weeks in quarantine.

Health Minister Greg Hunt explained on Monday why Australia has imposed a travel ban on arrivals from Iran, but not from other high-risk countries including South Korea and Italy, where cases doubled to over 1000 in one day.

He said he'd accepted the advice of chief medical officers including Professor Brendan Murphy, who said the outbreaks in Italy and South Korea were not considered as risky as Iran's because they were contained and localised.

Prof Murphy said it was a different situation in Iran, where alarm bells had been ringing after more than 50 deaths from about 1000 cases.

The nation's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy had a sobering statement for Australians on Monday: "It is no longer possible to absolutely prevent new cases coming in".

Meanwhile Indonesia has confirmed its first two positive cases of coronavirus.

With AAP