Thread by @kakape

Daily presser from @WHO on #2019nCoV starts with new numbers (as of 6am Geneva): China: 40235 cases, 909 deaths
Rest of the World: 319 cases in 24 countries, 1 death

@WHO The overall pattern has not changed, @DrTedros says: 99% of reported #2019nCoV cases are in China.
Most cases are mild.
About 2% of cases are fatal.

@WHO @DrTedros "A lot of people are asking, where is the outbreak going? Is it getting btter? Is it getting worse?”, says @DrTedros. Says two things that could help answer that:

@WHO @DrTedros 1. meeting starting tomorrow in Geneva with researchers from around the world "will identify some of those questions and chart a path forward”
2. @WHO’s expert team on #2019nCoV in China (advance team has just arrived in China)

@WHO @DrTedros .@DrTedros mentions “concerning instances of onward transmission from people with no travel history to China" like recent cases from France and UK. These “could be the spark that becomes a bigger fire”, he says.

@WHO @DrTedros .@SCBriand says a better view is emerging of how many people with #2019nCoV have mild disease: Around 80% have mild disease, around 15 percent have severe disease, “mostly pneumonia that requires hospitalization”, 3-5% will require intensive care, she says.

@WHO @DrTedros @SCBriand .@DrTedros says @WHO’s #2019nCoVexpert team will likely number 10 people (3 have just arrived in China as an advance). He says they are fully empowered to decide with heir counterparts what to focus on, where to visit etc.

@WHO @DrTedros @SCBriand .@DrMikeRyan adds that the international and Chinese scientists need the time and space to interact. “This is a moment for us to step back and let the scientists do their work."