South Korea deputy PM on preemptive virus measures

South Korea's government on Tuesday said it has contingency plans to send a chartered aircraft to evacuate its citizens from the Chinese city that's the epicenter of a viral outbreak.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said South Korea had raised the alert level and was running "pre-emptive preventive measures".

China cut transportation links to and from the city of Wuhan on 22 January and has since expanded those controls to several nearby cities.

Anyone travelling from Wuhan is required to register and quarantine themselves for 14 days - the maximum incubation period of the virus.

As the number of cases grow and China takes drastic measures to try to stop the spread of the virus, other countries planning evacuations include Japan, the US, France, Germany, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Australia.

Hong Kong has barred entry to travellers from Hubei province and has told Hong Kong residents returning from the area to quarantine themselves at home.