Four patients are being tested for the flu-like coronavirus in hospitals in the UK, reports said on Thursday.
It is thought that the unidentified patients were from the Chinese city of Wuhan, which is believed to be the source of the outbreak of the virus.
Three of the patients are being examined in Scotland and a fourth in Northern Ireland.
Britain's Health Ministry told The National that there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
"There are currently no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the UK and the risk to the Scottish public remains low," a Scottish Government spokesman said.
“Following travel to Wuhan, China, two people confirmed as diagnosed with influenza are now being tested for Wuhan novel coronavirus as a precautionary measure only.
"A third person is also currently undergoing testing on a similar precautionary basis.
“We are co-orientating with Health Protection Scotland a daily incident management team to continue to monitor the situation as it develops.”
The Health Minister, Matt Hancock, told the British Parliament on Thursday that 571 cases and 17 deaths had been confirmed so far by the Chinese government.
“This is a rapidly developing situation and the number of deaths and the number of cases is likely to be higher than those that have been confirmed so far, and I expect them to rise,” Mr Hancock said.
Meanwhile, a passenger suspected of having the virus, who arrived at Los Angeles Airport, has been taken to hospital for examination.
There has been one confirmed case of coronavirus in the US so far.
