A Melbourne couple say they hold grave fears for their two-year-old daughter who is stranded in Wuhan with her Chinese grandparents.
Chloe Nuoyi Zhao has been in the coronavirus-hit city since January, visiting her paternal grandparents.
She was due to return home on January 4, but was unable to accompany her parents to Australia because her passport was with the Chinese authorities for visa purposes.
Her mother, Melbourne engineer Yuchen Cao, told the ABC the family then planned to return to China to celebrate the Chinese New Year on January 25 and bring their daughter back.
But two days before the January 26 flight, Chinese authorities imposed a total lockdown.
Many airlines also suspended services to mainland China, with countries such as the US, Vietnam and Singapore barring Chinese nationals from entry.
On Saturday, Australia imposed strict restrictions denying entry to people who had left or transited through mainland China.
Being an Australian citizen, Chloe is entitled to be evacuated, but Ms Cao says Australian authorities have refused to bring the toddler home because she is an unaccompanied minor.
Nor will they allow Chloe's grandparents to travel with her, as they are not Australian citizens nor permanent residents.
Ms Cao said she was told by multiple staff members at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) that Chloe was "too young to be evacuated" by herself.
"Our request for help just fell on deaf ears," she said
"The Chinese authorities said they will allow my daughter to be evacuated with my parents if the Australian Government permitted.
"But we felt helpless when Australian authorities simply shifted their responsibility to other departments. We don't know if there is any internal communication between different departments."
Ms Cao said she was constantly anxious and desperate for information, but was "kept in the dark" by DFAT and Home Affairs despite trying to resolve the situation for the past 10 days.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said the Australian Government continued to work to assist the departure of isolated and vulnerable Australians from Wuhan.
"There are added complexities in cases where a child is unaccompanied for their entire journey to Australia," the spokeswoman said.
"In all cases, the welfare of the child remains paramount. Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to comment on individual cases."
But time is running out for the little girl.
With Wuhan in lockdown, those who have been left stranded have described the 11 million-strong city as a "ghost town" as people are urged to stay indoors.
Ms Cao told the ABC Chloe's grandparents were fast running out of baby formula and other day-to-day necessities.
However, it is too dangerous for them to venture out to buy food as the elderly are particularly vulnerable to contracting coronavirus.
"They tried their best to wear protective items before going out, but if they fall sick who will take care of my daughter?" Ms Cao said.
The death toll for coronavirus in China has now hit 490.
Ms Cao said she felt very "guilty" for leaving Chloe, an only child, with her grandparents.
"It's not fair to my two-year-old child because she is too young," Ms Cao said.
"The Australian Government shouldn't give up on providing equality and welfare to any Aussie child.
"As a mother, I feel it was my mistake to leave her there … but my child shouldn't have to pay the price for my mistakes."
Jeremy Fernandez will host a 30-minute special on coronavirus on Friday, February 7 from 7.30pm AEDT on News Channel, featuring a guest panel, explainers on how the virus unfolded and myth-busting the misinformation. The special will be repeated on ABC TV at 10pm.
