Coronavirus ‘very real’ threat to become pandemic: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a grave warning against the China-generated coronavirus outbreak, saying there is a "very real" threat that the flu-like pathogen would become a pandemic.

"Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a news conference in Geneva on Monday.

"But it would be the first pandemic that could be controlled. The bottom line is we are not at the mercy of the virus. Whether it is pandemic or not, the rule of the game is the same: never give up," he added.

Tedros also censured those who might suggest simply letting the virus run its course, stressing that the outbreak is "very fatal" for the elderly and weak, in particular.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the city of Wuhan in Hubei, has killed more than 3,800 people and infected over 108,000 in at least 95 countries — the majority in mainland China.

Covid-19 updates: China reports zero cases outside Hubei as world steps up fight

China reports zero cases of infections with new coronavirus Covid-19 outside Hubei Province, the epidemic’s epicenter, for the first time since the outbreak started in December 2019.

The country’s National Health Commission on Sunday recorded 40 new cases, down from 44 a day earlier, the lowest since Beijing first began to release data on January 20.

Of the new infections, 36 were in Wuhan and the remaining four had been imported from Iran, one of the worst-hit countries.

On Sunday, China also reported 22 new deaths — which were all, except one, in Hubei, bringing the toll to 3,119.

More than 80,700 people have in total been infected in mainland China.

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