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.

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.

The government has asked New Zealand and Australian governments to help quarantined the returrnees in their countries despite the fact these Tongans do not hold arrival permits into their countries.

According to Kaniva News reports, the Tongan sport teams and students in Wuhan are expected to return home next week or as soon as possible and they will face 14 days quarantine.

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.

This is despite the number of people killed by the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, increasing.

Students spoken to by RNZ Pacific said their universities had either postponed or cancelled the school year and advised foreign students to return home if they can.

Some institutions were also advising students who went home for the holidays not to return until advised to do so.

Dr Mike Ryan praised China's response to the deadly outbreak, saying: "The challenge is great but the response has been massive."

The WHO will meet on Thursday to discuss whether the virus constitutes a global health emergency.

The Chinese city of Wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak.

But the virus has spread across China and to at least 16 countries globally, including Thailand, France, the US and Australia.

More than 130 people have died in China and close to 6,000 have been infected.

Described as a "game changer" that will help scientists determine whether a future vaccine is effective, experts at Melbourne's Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity on Tuesday became the world's first scientific lab outside of China to recreate the virus.

They will now share it with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Europe, which will in turn share it with labs worldwide — including one from Queensland — involved in the worldwide race to develop a vaccine.

The team of scientists grew the virus from a patient who had been infected since Friday.