Coronavirus

The Politburo Standing Committee said the national emergency management system had to improve.

A crackdown on wildlife markets, where the virus emerged, has been ordered.

There are more than 17,000 confirmed cases in China, with 361 deaths, and more than 150 in other countries, with one death in the Philippines.

The number of deaths in China, excluding Hong Kong, now exceeds the 349 killed on the mainland in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002-03.

Fiji's borders will now be closed to all foreign nationals who have been in mainland China within 14 days of their intended travel to Fiji.

Similar to newly-instituted policies in Singapore and Australia, no passenger arrivals or transits will be permitted for those falling under these controls, effective immediately and until further notice.

The government said there were no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Fiji.

In New Zealand, foreigners from China are banned from entering the country from today.

The Government Press Secretariat said the two flew in from China.

Officials say the students displayed no physical symptoms of the coronavirus but protocol directed by Cabinet to ensure containment of the disease must always be followed.

Last month, two Samoan sailors who transited in China were put in isolation after arriving in Samoa via Fiji.

They were on the same flight with six Chinese passengers, who were deported back to Fiji.

Fiji has joined the list of countries restricting access because of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Kiribati is the latest Pacific country to impose entry requirements to stop the spread off the virus.

All visitors are now required to fill out a health form and travelers from countries with the coronavirus must go through a self-quarantine period.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Wallis and Futuna have ordered 5000 face masks amid concern over the propagation of the coronavirus.

This is the territory's biggest order of its kind as people worry the respiratory illness could reach the archipelago.

The six Chinese travellers were returned to Nadi from Samoa aboard a Fiji Airways flight for not meeting the self-quarantine requirements at Apia Airport.

Health official Sunil Chandra said the group tested negative for coronavirus and posed no threat to the public.

However, Mr Chandra could not confirm whether the group had been sent home or allowed to remain in Fiji due to restrictions imposed by the Chinese government at its borders.

Samoa's new emergency measures require travellers to undergo medical clearance at least three days before heading to the island.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs chief executive Peseta Noumea Simi said students would remain in Wuhan under the care of their universities, alongside more than 70 other Pacific students.

Ten Samoan students were studying in Wuhan but four left the province during the holidays and have not returned following advice not to.

Peseta said the situation remained carefully monitored and supported by the Samoa Embassy in Beijing.

The Chinese government was deploying human and financial resources to Wuhan to stop the virus from spreading further, she said.

The group according to Acting Director General of Health Tagaloa Dr. Robert Thomsen departed mainland China two days ago.

As the epicentre of the Coronavirus, Tagaloa explained that the Travel Advisory mandates for Chinese nationals from the mainland to undergo the 14-day self-quarantine requirement in a country, which does not have confirmed cases of the virus before they are allowed into Samoa.

To date, since the last Friday when the Border Security Travel Advisory was enforced, 13 travellers mostly from China have been denied entry into the country.

Although Samoa has not recorded a case, travelers are required to get a medical clearance at least three days before their arrival in Apia to confirm they are free of any infectious diseases.

However, a Samoan community leader in New Zealand said the confusion and the cost to get a medical clearance was forcing many people to cancel their travel plans.

Teleiai Edwin Puni, who was in Apia this month, wants better public awareness by the Samoan government to educate people about coronavirus.

Domestic football at all levels in China has been postponed in order to help control the spread of the virus - a SARS-like condition - which has reportedly claimed more than 130 lives.

The CSL was scheduled to get underway on February 22, with Guangzhou Evergrande looking to defend their title.

"The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.

The death toll now stands at 170 people in China.

The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 countries outside of the country, but no deaths.

Most cases have emerged in people who have travelled from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.