Singer-actress Charlene Choi and singer-actor Kenny Kwan made a dash for it before Malaysia went into lockdown.

The Hong Kong stars had been filming drama series Female Forensic Doctor JD in Kuala Lumpur when news broke on Monday night that Malaysia will ban all travel abroad for its citizens and all foreign visitors from yesterday to March 31.

According to Malaysia's See Hua Daily News, they went to another filming location, but it is not clear if they are still in Malaysia or have returned to Hong Kong.

In an Instagram post, Choi, 37, uploaded a video and a photo of the cast and crew's luggage.

She wrote: "Last night, I took an hour to shower and pack my things in the hotel, didn't even fold any of my clothes - I just stuffed them into the suitcase. Everyone's luggage doubled and we had to go to a second venue overnight - it felt like we were fleeing from a crisis."

She added that she received many messages of concern and told fans and friends not to worry and assured them that she and the cast and crew will not venture out unnecessarily.

She also urged the public to wash their hands frequently, saying: "This is probably the period in my life where I have washed my hands the most, to the point where my skin is flaking. But washing hands is so important."

According to Hong Kong media, her 39-year-old co-star Kwan similarly posted clips on Instagram of him with his luggage.

He revealed that he had been enjoying a pleasant evening - binge-watching the South Korean zombie series Kingdom at 7pm on Monday night, calmly buying masks and hand sanitiser at 8pm, then having dinner at 9pm before he saw the news at 10pm.

He was then told to pack up and leave his Kuala Lumpur hotel by midnight, calling it a "midnight mad rush".

Another cast member on the series, Gladys Li, had earlier returned to Hong Kong from Malaysia and told the press another castmate, actor Carlos Chan, was not allowed to leave Malaysia.

She said the drama's cast was worried that if Chan took time off to return to Hong Kong, he would be asked to quarantine himself when he returned to Malaysia, which would affect the series' filming schedule.