Australia confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus on Saturday in Melbourne, with many pharmacies in the city's center running out of protective masks despite health officials saying they are not recommended.

Axar.az reports citing Gulftoday that a Chinese national in his 50s, who had been in the city of Wuhan where the virus first appeared, is in a stable condition in a Melbourne hospital after arriving from China on Jan. 19 on a flight from Guangzhou, Victoria Health Minister Jenny Mikakos told journalists.

It is important to stress that there is no cause for alarm to the community," Mikakos said.

In neighboring New South Wales state, health officials said they were treating two cases as "probable infections" although definite results of tests would only be known later on Saturday.