The Government has declared coronavirus a "serious and imminent threat to public health".
The announcement by health secretary Matt Hancock means that new measures are to introduced by the government to fight the spread of the deadly illness.
Currently there are four confirmed cases of the disease in the UK but so far no one has tested positive for the virus north of the border.
A Department of Health statement said: "The Secretary of State has made regulations to ensure that the public are protected as far as possible from the transmission of the virus.
"The Secretary of State declares that the incidence or transmission of novel Coronavirus constitutes a serious and imminent threat to public health, and the measures outlined in these regulations are considered as an effective means of delaying or preventing further transmission of the virus."
The news comes as two testing facilities for possible cases of novel coronavirus have been established in Scotland.
From today two laboratories, one in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh, will begin to process all tests from Scotland.
The new Scottish facilities mean negative test results can be returned quicker. Previously, all samples have been sent to London for testing.
