CORONAVIRUS | San Francisco declared a local emergency over the coronavirus yesterday, despite having no cases, as US officials urged Americans to prepare for the spread of infections within their communities.

California's fourth-largest city said it made the move to boost its coronavirus preparedness and raise public awareness of risks the virus may spread to the city.

“Although there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco residents, the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to step-up preparedness,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the United States yesterday to prepare for community spread after infections surfaced in several more countries.

The 14 confirmed US cases of coronavirus have been mostly travel-related, with only two cases of person-to-person spread. There are also 39 cases among Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Tokyo and from Wuhan, China.

- Reuters