The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed at a European Union office in Brussels.
A spokesperson confirmed an employee at the European Defence Agency has tested positive.
The individual was tested on Saturday.
The agency has cancelled all meetings, and staff who were in close contact have been sent home and told to self-isolate.
Other staff are being asked to take their temperature twice daily.
The European Commission has previously said it is working "on all fronts" to support member states' efforts to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than 3,300 cases have been detected across the bloc - more than two-thirds of which have been in Italy.
Ireland has two confirmed cases so far.
'Work from home'
Meanwhile, the recruitment company Indeed is asking all its employees around the world to work from home until further notice.
The company, which employs more than 1,000 people in Dublin, said it is trying to minimise the risk to staff and their families.
It is also suspending all business travel and cancelling all near-term Indeed-hosted events.”
In a message to staff, it said: “While we recognize these measures will be inconvenient for some, we will do our best to support you.
“We feel it is the right action to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees while still enabling us to continue to fulfil our mission of helping people get jobs.”
It said there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its 9,000 employees around the world but it is acting “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We are constantly evaluating this evolving situation and adjusting tactics based on new information to keep you safe,” it told its employees.
It comes after Twitter, which employs 200 people in Ireland and 5,000 around the world, said it was ‘strongly encouraging’ all its employees to work from home where possible.
Google also advised up to 8,000 of its staff in Dublin to work from home as a precaution after an employee displayed flu-like symptoms.
