Coronavirus confirmed as pandemic by World Health Organization

The coronavirus outbreak has been labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the number of cases outside China had increased 13-fold over the past two weeks.

He said he was “deeply concerned” by “alarming levels of inaction” over the virus.

“Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled,” he said.

“The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same – it’s whether they will.”