People wear mask at a street in Beijing [Source: 7News]

The coronavirus-related travel ban preventing Chinese visitors and students from entering Australia due to end this weekend has been extended for a further week.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra today after a national security committee meeting, they did not take this decision lightly

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said the key concern was the spread of the virus, officially known as COVID-19, across China.

There are now more than 60,000 confirmed cases of the virus, most of them in the province of Hubei where it was first detected, and 1,357 people have died.

More than 240 deaths were reported on Wednesday alone, the highest number of fatalities since the virus was first reported in December.