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The British Columbia government has begun screening passengers landing in the province’s airports to ensure the new coronavirus does not spread here.
The virus has already killed 17 people after spreading out of its centre in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
It has been detected in several Chinese provinces as well as Thailand, South Korea and, as of yesterday, the US.
A case was identified in the state of Washington.
But Minister of Health Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry say the risk to British Columbians is “low”.
"To date, there have been no cases of illness caused by the coronavirus in British Columbia or elsewhere in Canada,” they said in a joint statement.
"We are watching the situation closely and health-care workers have been asked to be vigilant and take a travel history for anyone reporting respiratory symptoms.
"In co-ordination with the Public Health Agency of Canada, our public health teams are responding by closely monitoring the situation and have implemented screening for early detection of infections for individuals arriving in airports.
They added: “Quarantine officers are available at Vancouver International Airport to co-ordinate any response required, and Richmond Hospital infection control practitioners are ready to respond to any potential scenario where a patient may require further investigation.
"The BC Centre for Disease Control has also developed a diagnostic test for the new coronavirus, which is different from the SARS outbreak when there was no similar test. The centre is co-ordinating staff and supplies to ensure they are prepared to quickly and accurately detect potential cases.”
They also said that anyone concerned they may have been exposed to the virus to contact their primary care provider or call 811.
"We encourage anyone travelling to or from China to visit the federal source of destination-specific travel information that provides important advice to help travellers make informed decisions and travel safely while abroad,” they explained.
The website can be found here: travel.gc.ca.
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