The coronavirus outbreak has now spread to every continent, apart from Antarctica.
The World Health Organisation has said, for the first time, that the virus is now growing at a faster rate outside of China.
HSE Campaign
Here at home, the HSE is stepping up its campaign on the illness.
Posters, leaflets and HSE staff will be at ports and airports over the coming weeks.
Our Environmental Health Service staff have been deployed to Dublin Airport since 4pm today to assist incoming passengers with Coronavirus queries #OurHealthService pic.twitter.com/4npv9521bh
— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) February 26, 2020
The country's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, outlines what people can expect from the public awareness campaign;
"That will give them information about where they have come from, if that is an area of concern, and what kind of symptoms they should watch out for, and what they should do in the event that they either have symptoms or have come from one of those areas and are asymptomatic ."
Those with symptoms are asked to contact their GP by phone and follow the advice from there. You can also find more information here.
Yesterday it was announced that Ireland's Six Nations game with Italy at the Aviva Stadium next month was being rescheduled.
Two other matches are also affected by health fears over the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile in Tenerife, hundreds of people, including a number of Irish tourists, are in quarantine at a hotel.
Economic Impact
IBEC says it doesn't expect the coronavirus to have a major impact on the Irish economy.
The business group is anticipating growth in GDP of almost four percent this year in its latest economic outlook.
