Nine times more new virus cases outside China than in: WHO

World Health Organisation on Monday said number of new coronavirus cases registered in past day in China was far lower than in rest of world.

"In last 24 hours re were almost nine times more COVID-19 cases reported outside China than inside China," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adham Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.

To date, more than 3,000 people have died from new virus, while nearly 90,000 have been infected around world, according to AFP's latest toll based on official sources. In China, where deadly new virus first appeared last December, number of new cases being registered each days is meanwhile continuing to decline, with only 206 new cases reported to WHO on Sunday.

That marks lowest number of daily cases reported since January 22, Tedros said, adding that all but eight of those cases were reported in Hubei province  epicentre of outbreak. Outside of China, however, 8,739 cases have w been registered across 61 countries, including 127 deaths, according to WHO's latest count.

Tedros said a "window of opportunity" remains to contain outbreak, ting that "more than 130 countries have t detected any cases yet". In countries that are seeing cases, he said situations in South Korea, Iran, Italy and Japan are currently "our greatest concern".

Iran reported 12 more deaths on Monday, raising country's toll to 66, second biggest after China. A WHO mission to support Iranian response to outbreak arrived in country on Monday, bringing with it "protective equipment to support over 15,000 health care workers". team also brought "laboratory kits eugh to test and diagse nearly 100,000 people," WHO said.

South Korea, biggest nest of infections outside China, reported nearly 500 new cases on Monday, raising its total past 4,000. Half of South Korea's cases are linked to a sect whose leader apologised Monday for spread of disease. Tedros said he was encourd to see that most of South Korean cases were linked to "five kwn clusters", indicating "that surveillance measures are working." 

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