Update: British Columbia confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus today (January 28). For more information, see this article. 

Original article (January 27):

The Canadian government is warning Canadians not to travel to certain parts of China due to the novel coronavirus.

Today (January 27), the federal government raised a travel advisory to the highest level of risk, stating that Canadians should avoid all travel to the province of Hubei in China, including the cities of Wuhan, Huanggang, and Ezhou.

The advisory states that heavy travel restrictions have been imposed in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus, including entry and exit from Hubei, and that there is ”extreme risk to your personal safety and security” in this region.

Travellers should also expect increased health measures at airports, as well as some train stations, throughout China.

Several cities in China are under partial or complete lockdown, with many transportation networks (including buses, rail, and flights) shut down.

Travellers to Macao, Taiwan, Hong Kong, are advised to read the Public Health Agency of Canada’s health notice about the novel coronavirus.

On January 26, Hong Kong raised the response level to the virus from serious to emergency.

When the Georgia Straight reported on the worldwide state of the coronavirus at 10 a.m. today, there were 2,825 cases, with 81 deaths and 59 recoveries.

That number has since jumped to 4,474 cases, with 107 deaths and 63 recoveries.

Of those cases, 4,409 are in mainland China while other locations include Hong Kong (8), Thailand (8), Macau (60), Australia (5), Singapore (5), Taiwan (5), USA (5), Japan (4), Malaysia (4), South Korea (4), France (3), Vietnam (2), and Cambodia (1).

Both Germany and Sri Lanka reported their first cases of the virus today. A suspected case in Ivory Coast is under investigation.

In Canada, Ontario confirmed today that there are now two cases in Toronto.