GENEVA (REUTERS) - The coronavirus outbreak can still be beaten, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday (Feb 24), insisting it was premature to declare it a pandemic even though it had the potential to reach that level.

"The key message that should give all countries hope, courage and confidence is that this virus can be contained, indeed there are many countries that have done exactly that," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva.