Orange plans coronavirus strategy amid overreaction fears

Councillor Tony Mileto asked at Tuesday night's meeting what the council was doing to address the threat.

"Especially with regards to potentially exposing councillors and staff to the virus," he said.

Chief executive officer David Waddell said he asked human resources staff last week to start thinking about what the council would do and how the problem would be dealt with as a city.

"It's a vexed issue," he said.

Mr Waddell said he attended a meeting of the emergency management committee, which included police, ambulance and NSW Health, and anticipated the council would "dovetail" into health strategies.

"What they're really worried about now is an overreaction to it and the fact that a child might get a sniffle and the hospital will be absolutely stacked," he said.