The Coronavirus Could Infect 2/3 Of The World's Population, According To Experts

As stated by a leading public health epidemiologist based in Hong Kong, the Coronavirus could infect around two-thirds of the world’s population if we fail to control it.

This statement came after WHO’s head (World Health Organization) said that the recently discovered cases of infection who have never visited China might just be the tip of the iceberg.

Professor Gabriel Leung at Hong Kong University said that the most pressing issue now is to determine the shape and size of the iceberg. Many experts agree that each infected patient would transmit the virus to 2.5 other people, meaning the attack rate is from 60% to 80%.

According to Leung, 60% of the world’s population is a very big number so even if the pandemic’s fatality rate is just 1%, the number of death will be large.

He said that in the meeting with WHO, he would suggest figuring out the scale of the Coronavirus pandemic and then determine whether China’s methods to contain and treat the infection work. If they do, other nations might want to consider adopting the measures.

WHO meeting in Geneva has the participation of over 400 national authorities and researchers from all over the world. Many experts from Taiwan and mainland China join via video calls.

As stated by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, while the majority of cases are in China, making the Coronavirus an emergency for the country, this is a threat to the rest of the world too.

So far, China has announced 42,708 cases of Coronavirus infections, with the death toll reaching 1,017.

Leung is among the top experts in the world when it comes to epidemics related to Coronavirus. He played an important role in controlling the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003. He works with other experts in the field from Oxford University and Imperial College London.

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