Whippany-based Bayer announced on Tuesday it is donating medicines and additional financial aid worth a total of approximately 1.5 million euros to support the population affected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China.

Donations will be made to the Chinese Red Cross, which is working together with health authorities to coordinate the deployment of aid measures for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and containment of the coronavirus.

“We want to help people in the affected regions quickly and effectively,” said Werner Baumann, chairman of the board of management of Bayer AG. “Our people have worked hard over the Chinese New Year holiday season to make sure that these medicines can be supplied without delay.”

The donated medicines – Avelox (antibiotic), Redoxon (vitamin C), Saridon (antipyretic/analgesic), and Gadovist and Ultravist (contrast media) – have a total value of 850,000 euros. The approximately 600,000 euros cash donation will be primarily used to provide protective clothing for medical staff in Wuhan, China.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a virus identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan.

Early on, many patients of the outbreak in Wuhan reportedly had some link to a large seafood and animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. However, a growing number of patients reportedly have not had exposure to animal markets, indicating person-to-person spread is occurring. At this time, it is unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading between people.

According to a report by WCBS-TV in New York, the CDC is testing 110 people in 26 states for possible coronavirus infections.

At press time, at least 106 people have died in China from the disease, and thousands have been sickened.

CBS-New York is reporting that there are five confirmed cases in the U.S. Several suspected patients in the Tri-State Area are being tested, including one in New Jersey.  However, the New Jersey Department of Health told NJBIZ that CDC test results came back negative for the person in New Jersey who was under investigation for novel coronavirus. There is no other person in New Jersey under investigation at this time.

Editor’s note: Story was updated to include the statement from the NJDOH.