The stars of the viral pandemic movie Contagion have reunited to film a series of public service announcements (PSA) on Friday to warn about COVID-19, urging fans to follow experts' instructions.

The 2011 movie, starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne and Jennifer Ehle, has seen a surge in popularity recently as the coronavirus has spread across the globe.

The four actors teamed up with scientists from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health to offer four individual homemade videos with advice on ways to contain the coronavirus and messages of confidence, unity for everyone.

"A few years ago a bunch of us did this movie called Contagion which we've noticed is creeping its way back up on the charts on iTunes for obvious reasons," Damon explained in his video.

'This is real life'

"That was a movie. This is real life," said Damon, who played a character who was immune to the virus in the movie, urging people to listen to the experts and practice social distancing.

He concluded: "Other generations were asked to do extraordinary things, we're being asked to just stay at home."