An outbreak of pneumonia believed to be caused by a novel Coronavirus (nCoV) was confirmed by Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in Hubei province, Central China, on December 31st, 2019.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reported that the Huanan Seafood market was connected with many of the initial cases of the virus. The market was closed on January 1 to be cleaned and disinfected.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organizaiton (WHO) Director-General, stated "584 cases have now been reported to WHO, including 17 deaths. 575 of those cases and all of the deaths have been reported in China, with other cases reported in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United States of America and Vietnam," 

While this is a health emergency in China, the WHO has not yet declared a global emergency. 

There have not been any cases of the virus in Alberta or even Canada yet. 

AHS has said, “Currently, there are no reports of confirmed cases of infection in Canada of this nCoV and we are not aware of any cases involving Canadians overseas. AHS and Alberta Health are carefully monitoring the situation and will be able to respond effectively should there be any cases in Alberta.”

The PHAC assures Canadians, “The overall risk to Canadian travellers and to Canada remains low.”

The situation has been rapidly evolving, and travelers should keep checking back with travel.gc.ca for updated travel health recommendations.