A HSE spokeswomen, while not confirming any details relating to the incident, said yesterday that they have a "protocol in place" to activate any plan at ports of entry into Ireland.

The outbreak of the new coronavirus has been described as “an emerging, rapidly evolving situation” by the HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

Kildare man Ben Kavanagh, who is working as a teacher in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has told of the precautions people are taking to avoid contracting the coronavirus.