This week saw the first cases of coronavirus confirmed in Liverpool - and the first death from the disease in the UK.
The news has understandably raised concern for those around the city, with it looking highly likely there will be many more confirmed cases here.
But city chiefs have said that overall, Liverpool could not be in a better position to tackle the public health crisis.
This week Mayor Joe Anderson chaired an emergency meeting of councillors and representatives from other key agencies like the NHS, police and public health.
That committee will now meet every two weeks as the city takes a proactive role in ensuring it is in the best place for the coming challenges.
And the council's health spokesman Paul Brant said Liverpool is extremely well-equipped to deal with the difficult months ahead.
He told the ECHO: "We couldn't be better prepared here in Liverpool for what is expected to come in terms of a coronavirus outbreak.
"The partnership between the city council, the local NHS and all the other agencies is really strong - which we saw at the first joint meeting this week.
"We have specific plans in place for these types of events and those plans are now being put into effect to protect the city.
"I'm not saying it won't have an impact or an effect here - but we are in a really good position to tackle it."
One area in which Liverpool is particularly well-equipped is he specialist facilities at the Royal Liverpool Hospital - one of just a handful of hospitals in the country with an infectious diseases unit.
Several patients from elsewhere have already been transferred to the Royal to be treated.
As this continues, it will inevitably put more pressure on the hospital and Cllr Brant said it could mean non-coronavirus patients are affected.
He said: "It is possible that as cases grow, we will see the need for more capacity at hospital like the Royal and this could mean the postponement of elective procedures, but we are not at that stage yet."
