Concerns are being raised over the safety measures in Australian schools as the global coronavirus outbreak worsens.

In a matter of days, the death toll has doubled to at least 106 worldwide, with five Australians now confirmed to have the disease.

As students return to class this week, parents are questioning whether their children are safe.

Children who have been in Wuhan over the holidays are being allowed to return to school but will be “closely monitored”, according to NSW Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott.

Only students who are showing symptoms or who have been in contact with someone diagnosed with coronavirus will be barred from attending school for 14 days.

Mr Scott tells Deborah Knight the safety measures are adequate.

“The sensible thing for education ministers to do is follow the advice of the experts.

“The people who are providing us with this advice are the chief health officers from all around the country.”

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But listeners have made it clear there are still concerns.

Many want all children who visited the Hubei province, at the epicentre of the outbreak, to be stopped from returning to school.

Deb Knight promised to keep questioning whether the response goes far enough.

“I will keep pushing because I’ve got kids at school and I, like all of us, have concerns about how this is being handled.”

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