The US State Department advises citizens to consider plans to go to China amidst the rapid spread of Wuhan pneumonia.

The US State Department on January 27 raised the recommended level of travel to China to level 3, which is equivalent to "considering travel". The agency also warned citizens not to go to Hubei Province, where the city of Wuhan is the capital, and the source of the outbreak of acute pneumonia caused by the nCoV virus.

Shortly thereafter, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also raised the alert level to level 3, the highest level, advising citizens to "avoid unnecessary travel" to China. Currently, 82 people have died from acute pneumonia in China and more than 2,700 cases worldwide.

Last week, the State Department said it had ordered all non-essential employees and their families to leave Wuhan.

"The US government has restricted the ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in Hubei Province," the agency said in a statement.

The State Department also said the charter flight to evacuate government officials in Wuhan to California is scheduled to take off tomorrow instead of today as originally planned. All evacuees will have a health check at the airport before departure.

The Government of Canada has also issued a warning asking citizens to avoid going to Hubei province to limit the risk of spreading the virus. The recommendation refers to the three specific cities of the province: Wuhan, Huanggang, and Wuzhou.

The United States and Canada are two of the countries outside of Asia that found positive cases for nCoV virus, besides Australia and France. A person in Arizona yesterday was confirmed as the fifth case of Wuhan pneumonia in the United States.

Wuhan Mayor Chu Tien Vuong admits the crisis is not good, does not publish timely information and is ready to resign to calm public opinion. Earlier, Hubei province chief Wang Xiaodong also said he was "very distressed and felt guilty".