The US Department of State recommends that citizens "consider" their plans to go to China amidst the rapid spread of Wuhan pneumonia.

The State Department also warned its citizens to avoid going to Hubei province, where the city of Wuhan is the capital, and the beginning of an acute outbreak of pneumonia caused by the nCoV virus. Currently, 82 people have died from the disease 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".