The outfit insists that Foxconn has a plan to "meet all global manufacturing obligations", even as China restricts travel and enacts quarantine measures.

It has a facility in Wuhan, the outbreak's epicentre, but most of its iPhone production happens around 300 miles away in Zhengzhou, the largest city in China's Henan province, where the coronavirus had infected nearly 280 people as of early Thursday. The device is produced in Shanghai -- nearly 500 miles away from Wuhan -- by Foxconn competitor Pegatron.

"Foxconn is closely monitoring the current public health challenge linked to the coronavirus and we are applying all recommended health and hygiene practices to all aspects of our operations in the affected markets", it said in an emailed statement.

"Our facilities in China are following holiday schedules and will continue to do so until all businesses have resumed standard operating hours."

The Taiwanese company didn't offer details but cited its previous experience with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) -- which killed nearly 800 people and infected more than 8,000 in the early 2000s -- as experience in allocating resources to meet its production needs while keeping its employees healthy during such outbreaks.

The virus was first detected in Wuhan late last year and had killed more than 200 lives and infected 8,000 Chinese citizens. It's spread in smaller numbers to Europe, Australia, and the US.