First diagnosed in Wuhan, China, the virus has been reported in 12 countries, including the United States, France, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore. Public health information was available in both English and Chinese, and was available to the wider public through the Ministry of Health website, Dr Clark said. "Our plans are up to date, and people have been through training exercises on what to do," Dr Clark said. New Zealand’s emergency pandemic group had been convened and was ready to take further action, Dr Clark said. New Zealand health authorities were in daily contact with overseas agencies and were working closely with Australia to co-ordinate the two countries’ approaches.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 26, 2020 15:33 UTC