The Canadian military is now entering a "pre-pandemic" planning phase as it prepares to tackle coronavirus.

On Wednesday, Canadian Armed Forces General and Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance said that the military will adjust operations to "preserve the force and our ability to function, should there be a pandemic."

Today, I addressed the @CDAInstitute’s 2020 #OttawaConference where I highlighted the #CAF’s need to be ready for any contingency so we can effectively deter and, if necessary, defeat threats to Canada in all domains. pic.twitter.com/haOlsfySbN

— General Jonathan Vance (@CDS_Canada_CEMD) March 4, 2020

CAF commanders will now be more cautious about sending troops to a country experiencing a coronavirus outbreak; they will do so only if it's for an operationally essential purpose, such as when military medical crews were sent to China to evacuate Canadians.

Commanders will also carefully assess requests for vacation time on a case-by-case basis to prevent infection while abroad.

Similarly, the Canadian Forces will try to avoid large gatherings amongst troops where possible, in addition to reviewing its current stocks of health-related supplies.

According to the Canadian government, a flu is considered pandemic when humans have little or no immunity to it; pandemic flu is relatively rare, occurring only three to four times per century.

Previous cases of pandemic flu in Canada include the Spanish Flu (1918-1919) and the Swine Flu (2009-2010).

Canada currently has 34 confirmed cases of coronavirus: 20 in Ontario, 13 in B.C., and one in Quebec.