Italy's government is "closely monitoring" the new coronavirus that has killed over 100 people and infected more than 4,500 in China, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio told reporters in Rome on Tuesday.
The new virus is thought to have emerged from illegally traded wildlife at a seafood market in the sprawling Chinese city of Wuhan - now under lockdown - and can now spread between people.
Several foreign governments with large numbers of citizens in Wuhan are planning air evacuations. Japan was due to send a plane on Tuesday.
The virus has spread across China and to at least 16 countries globally.
