The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday that more than 70% of people who have been infected with Covid-19 in China have recovered. The news comes as "the threat of a pandemic" of the new coronavirus has "become very real," according to the director general of the WHO.

More than 70% of those infected with the new coronavirus in China have recovered, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, saying the Asian giant "is in the process of controlling the epidemic".

"Of the 80,000 cases reported in China, more than 70% have recovered," said WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference in Geneva.

"The threat of a pandemic" is getting closer

While the world currently has more than 110,000 cases of coronavirus, the Director General of WHO warned on Monday that "the threat of a pandemic" of the new coronavirus has "become very real".

"Now that the coronavirus has taken hold in many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real. But it would be the first pandemic in history that could be controlled," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a press conference in Geneva.