Over 200 people have died so far.
Three Irish citizens are understood to have been evacuated from China amidst the Coronavirus crisis.
The outbreak was a declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organisation yesterday in a bid to stop the virus from affecting countries with weaker health systems.
According to RTÉ News, three Irish citizens are among those being evacuated from Wuhan, China to the UK.
The chartered plane with 110 passengers left Wuhan and is expected to land at the RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire today.
All British passengers will be quarantined for 14 days in an NHS facility. It is not yet known where the EU passengers will be sent.
The WHO declared the Coronavirus outbreak a global public health emergency yesterday.
Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the measure has been introduced to stop the virus from affecting countries with weaker health systems.
“Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the emergence of a previously unknown pathogen, which has escalated into an unprecedented outbreak, and which has been met by an unprecedented response,” he said.
“So far we have not seen any deaths outside China, for which we must all be grateful.
“Although these numbers are still relatively small compared to the number of cases in China, we must all act together now to limit further spread.”
Since then, there has been two confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the UK.
Dr Tony Holohan told Morning Ireland that although it remains unclear how far the virus will spread, health services are preparing for a “worst case scenario.”
“The plans mandated by the WHO are the kind of plans we had in place really for a couple of weeks now,” he said.
“Our plans are based on ensuring we are in a strong position to detect a case if one is to arise in this country.”
