WHO: No pandemic - yet

Reports of new cases of the disease are coming. The virus has spread to more than 24 countries.

So far, 27 cases of human-to-human coronavirus infection have been documented in nine countries outside China, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He urges the world's rich countries to take greater responsibility.

- Of the 176 cases reported outside China, the WHO has so far only received comprehensive information from 38 percent of cases. Some high-income countries are far behind in sharing important information with the WHO, says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

- Without better information, it is very difficult for us to assess how the outbreak develops, what effect it can have or guarantee that we make the most appropriate recommendations.

WHO last week classified the virus outbreak as a global emergency. Sylvie Briand, Head of Unit at WHO, says it is not a pandemic yet. Instead, it is an epidemic with the spread of infection in various places in China, especially in Hubei Province. Outside the province there is more sporadic spread of infection.

The number of coronavirus infections in China has now risen to over 20,000, according to updated figures from the country's health authority. The vast majority are in Hubei Province.

To cope with the infection, China is calling for more medical material. The provincial authorities with a total of more than 300 million inhabitants have ordered all people there to wear protective masks. But there is an acute shortage of masks and factories in the country can only produce around 20 million masks per day.

- To stop the spread of the virus, it is very important that sick people wear masks to avoid infecting others, says Sylvie Briand.

But whether the protections are sufficient to protect healthy people from becoming infected is questionable. Sylvie Briand says that those who wear the masks but do not take other precautions, such as regularly washing their hands, can be weighed in with a "false sense of security".

In Singapore, six new cases of the disease have been confirmed. In total, 24 people in Singapore have been found to be infected by the coronavirus.

Four of the six who have now been confirmed to be ill have been the first persons infected in Singapore. They all have links to a store with many Chinese tourists. But there is no evidence of widespread transmission in Singapore, according to the Ministry of Health.

The virus has harvested its first victim in Hong Kong. It is a 39-year-old man with an underlying disease who died in the suites of the new coronavirus. It is the second death in the disease outside Mainland China.

Earlier, a 44-year-old Chinese man has died of the disease in the Philippines.

The official death toll is up in 427, including the two who have died off mainland China.