"We are very mindful that an economic impact is certainly being felt in the global economy and is beginning to be felt in Canada,'' Freeland told reporters in Ottawa.

The Home Depot of Canada and Manulife Financial Corp. are now among companies requiring their employees who are returning from Asia and Italy to either self-quarantine or to halt travel to those areas.

The mysterious lung virus is part of a large family of coronaviruses with a wide range of severity.