There are no confirmed cases of the illness in the capital region, to date.

Ottawa's Chief Medical Officer of Health says there are not any confirmed cases of coronavirus in the city at the moment, but that it's only a matter of time before it reaches this area.

Dr. Vera Etches gave an update on the local state of the virus, also known as COVID-19, on Monday, alongside Mayor Jim Watson and the City of Ottawa's Chair of the Board of Health Keith Egli.

She says emergency rooms at The Ottawa Hospital are testing up to five patients per day for the virus, as those are the only places in the city seeing people who believe they may have the illness.

However, Dr. Etches says nothing has changed about how the hospital is operating -- it has been "business as usual."

She also added that the vast majority of people who do come down with coronavirus make it through without having to make a hospital visit.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is advising residents to take similar precautions as they would during flu season, such as making sure prescriptions are filled and washing hands regularily.

For a full list of precautions residents can take, check out OPH's 'How to prepare for a possible pandemic situation.'